Familiar Feeling
by annabel1
Summary: AU, literati. CHAPTER SEVEN FINALLY ADDED! Rory and Jess meet (for the first time) in New York after Rory has graduated from college. Changes occur in both their lives.
1. Chapter One

TITLE: Familiar Feeling

AUTHOR: Annabel

PAIRING: R/J 

SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any

DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)

RATING: PG-13 for now.

INFO & SUMMARY: This is an AU fic. Rory has just graduated from Harvard and is living in New York with Alicia, a new colleague. Both girls are working at the New York Times. Rory has never met Jess before (meaning Jess never came to Stars Hollow, although he is Luke's nephew) and they have not even been aware of each other's existence. Lane and Dave live together in New York, Lorelai and Luke live together in Stars Hollow. Briefly put, pretty much everything that's happened on the show up to season 4 has happened prior to the time of this story, with the exception of everything involving Jess.

A/N: So, this idea came into my mind yesterday and I immediately started writing. I wanted to try something a bit different, so I don't yet know where this will lead. But the pairing definitely is R/J. So, this is AU, if you find something confusing let me know and I'll do my best to clear it out for you. But the next few chapters will give you more insight into the characters and their lives, especially Rory and Jess. Let me know what you think!:)

Familiar Feeling

Chapter One

He'd been awake for a while, just lying in bed and looking at the room he was in. He'd never seen a lamp like the one that was hanging from the ceiling, he'd never seen an armchair that was coloured bright neon yellow. There were photos on the walls, each of them portraying four or five girls in weird costumes and flashy makeup. He let his gaze take its time and made mental notes about all the interesting details he found. He always did that, meaning whenever he got to a new bedroom. And he'd seen his fair share of bedrooms.

He sighed quietly looking at the sheets surrounding him. They were disturbingly pink, but the girl next to him was undeniably attractive. She was lying on her stomach, her hands under the pillow, her short black hair messy and her bare back revealing her dark skin. The sight was familiar to him, he wondered how many girls he'd seen like this.

He sat up on the bedside and rubbed his face. He was pretty sure he didn't remember everything that had happened last night, but he was happy that his hangover was relatively nonexistent, although he did crave for a glass of cold water. He scouted the floor, located his clothes and noiselessly he got dressed. He was so good at this, leaving without being noticed, it was almost like an art form he'd created. 

He went to the door of the room and after placing his hand on the handle, he heard her mumbling something in her sleep and rolling on her back. Resisting the temptation to glance at her one more time, he pushed the door open and was out of the bedroom with no disturbance to his previous night's encounter.

He found himself in a living room, and got a few flashbacks of the night, how they'd stumbled toward the girl's bedroom. The living room was pretty basic, just a couch, some armchairs and a big dining table. It was in deep contrast with the girl's colourful bedroom. There was another door on the other side of the room, slightly cracked and probably leading to another bedroom. Quietly, he moved to the direction of the front door, hoping to find the kitchen somewhere along the way.

He found what he was looking for and walked to the sink feeling relief. His throat was dry and he looked at the cupboards wondering where he might find a glass, when he heard a voice behind him.

"The glasses are above the sink"

He turned slowly, only to find a girl sitting by the kitchen table, looking at him with mixed curiosity and amusement. Her presence had surprised him, but so did her appearance. Her skin was pale, her eyes a very distinctive blue and her brown hair which was cut to the shoulders was tucked behind her ears. She was dressed in light blue sweatpants and a white tank top, and she seemed so simple and effortless when she was looking at him. She was the complete opposite of the girl he'd just tried to sneak out on.

"So, trying to sneak out unnoticed?"

He turned his back on her to get the glass and after he'd filled it he drank the water to get his throat and vocal cords working again.

"It would have worked had it not been for you" he said casually as he turned to look at her again.

"I apologise" she said and was glad to see him smile when he nodded at her. "I'll just look out of the window now so you can continue the sneaking out" 

She turned away from him and heard him chuckle. 

"Thanks for the water. And sorry for the disturbance"

"No problem" she said and turned to look at him just in time to see him disappearing to the corridor. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

She sat by her desk, tapping a pen against the table and sipping coffee from the cup on her lips. She loved Sunday mornings, not having to go anywhere, just being able to sit back and have some coffee without a rush in the world. Especially lately, when she'd felt somehow restless she knew to appreciate the moments when everything seemed right in the world. She felt pretty good, she didn't even have a hangover since she'd went to bed early instead of going clubbing with Alicia like she'd asked her to.

And so Alicia had found yet another guy. Rory wasn't surprised. She'd only lived with Al for a few months and known her for about six, but she couldn't remember when Al had last spent Saturday night alone. She herself had guys stay over occasionally, but her track record was nothing compared to Alicia's.  

She dropped the pen on the table and settled herself better on the chair. She took a big gulp of coffee and thought about the guy she'd met earlier in the kitchen. He'd been pretty good-looking, dark-haired, brown-eyed, maybe had some Italian blood in him. He'd really caught her attention, there was something in him that she found intriguing. Something unfamiliar and new, she couldn't really put her finger on it, but he was just somehow… 

"Rory, did you get lucky last night?"

Alicia's voice startled her and she turned to look at her roommate. Shaking her head she said that she'd stayed in alone like she'd planned.

"What made you think that?" she asked out of curiosity. 

"Oh, just the smile on your face"

Had she been smiling? She hadn't realised that, and why would she have smiled anyway? She was thinking about some guy Alicia had spent the night with, there was nothing to smile about.

"Or did Alex call?" her friend asked as she entered the room and sat down on the unmade bed. 

"Alex? Yeah, he called yesterday, but… Alex isn't really… I don't know, 'the thing' is just missing whenever I'm with him or talk to him"

"Well, we both know that if 'the thing' isn't there right away, it never will be" Alicia said seriously, but soon grinned again. "I got lucky last night"

"I know. I saw the lucky man before he left" Rory said chuckling.

"He was pretty good-looking, right? I mean, I don't remember everything about last night, but I'd say he was hot. And looks weren't his only good quality" Al winked and made Rory shake her head amusedly. 

"Yeah, he was pretty good-looking. Though I just got a glance of him, didn't really have time to pay more attention"

Alicia yawned and asked if there was still some coffee left. After Rory had nodded, she left the room and headed toward the kitchen. Rory, on the other hand, got off her chair and went back to bed, pulling her blankets back on. She felt warm and comfortable, a nice change to the anxiousness she'd lately been feeling. Yeah, she just needed a relaxing day with a good book and life would seem better again.  

A/N: A short first chapter for you, the next ones will be longer. I'm just dying to know your opinions. Feedback is definitely appreciated, but please be gentle with it…


	2. Chapter Two

TITLE: Familiar Feeling

AUTHOR: Annabel

PAIRING: R/J 

SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any

DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)

RATING: PG-13 for now.

INFO & SUMMARY: This is an AU fic. Rory has just graduated from Harvard and is living in New York with Alicia, a new colleague. Both girls are working at the New York Times. Rory has never met Jess before (meaning Jess never came to Stars Hollow, although he is Luke's nephew) and they have not even been aware of each other's existence. Lane and Dave live together in New York, Lorelai and Luke live together in Stars Hollow. Briefly put, pretty much everything that's happened on the show up to season 4 has happened prior to the time of this story, with the exception of everything involving Jess.

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the feedback! I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love you guys and how thankful I am for all the kind, incredible things you've said! 

Chapter Two introduces a few new characters, by the end of it you'll have met all the main characters of this story. I wanted to have the basic stuff sorted out before venturing to the proper R/J interaction. Hope you like it!

Familiar Feeling

Chapter Two

He stood by the door of the storage room and he actually felt desperation. He'd been away for three months and this is what had happened. He wasn't even able to see the floor from all the boxes covering it, and the towering shelves seemed to be in danger of collapsing from the overload of boxes and books. He shook his head just as he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see his boss who had a grin on his face.

"Welcome back, Jess. Great to see you" Mike pulled him into a quick hug and made Jess look at him awkwardly. 

"Huh, I see this place isn't doing that great" Jess nodded to the direction of the storeroom. 

"We've missed your organisational skills, I admit. But hey, I wanna hear everything about California"

Jess had been on a road trip of a sort with his two best friends. They'd spent almost three months travelling around California and making a small detour to Mexico, just living out their childhood dreams and never knowing what the next day would bring. It'd been great, an experience he wouldn't have missed for the world.  

"There's not much to tell, Mike" Jess however said casually said as he leaned his back against the doorframe. "It was hot and sunny and the girls were…"

"Blondes with huge breasts?" 

"I was actually gonna say boring, but I guess it's the same thing" Jess said amusedly. "But you shouldn't really care anymore. I heard from a very reliable source that I should congratulate you on your engagement"

If he hadn't known better, Jess would have thought he saw Michael blush. His boss was about 40-years old, the owner of a bookstore that he'd inherited from his own father and where Jess had worked for the past few years. He and Jess were good friends, despite their age difference. They'd lived in the same building since Jess had been a kid and in a way, Mike had also served as a father figure for Jess when he'd felt that Jess needed one. They knew each other well, so Jess knew that Mike had been trying to get Kathy to marry him for ages.

"Set the date yet?" Jess asked as he followed Michael out of the storeroom and toward the shop, which was set in two floors.

"I told Kathy that any day good for her is good for me. I'd get married tomorrow if she'd agree to it"

"I bet you would" Jess smirked as he checked the latest releases by the counter. 

"But it'll be soon, since we're gonna… We're sort of planning to have a baby as soon as possible"

Jess looked up at Michael and didn't even try to hide his amazement. He wasn't really sure if he'd heard right, but when he saw Mike nodding he simply shook his head with a smile.

"You know, I'm not that young anymore and Kathy's biological clock is ticking, too…" Mike talked somewhat bashfully. 

"You're full of surprises, that's all I'm gonna say"

Mike laughed wholeheartedly and Jess thought to himself that he'd never before seen him this happy or relaxed. He seemed really tranquil, like he was so content with his life that he couldn't ask for anything more. It was strange to see his friend like this, but at the same time he was really happy for him. 

"You need to come over for dinner. Kathy said she'd pop in here to welcome you back, but believe me, she's dying to know about your trip as much as I am"

Jess said he'd be glad to come when a customer asked for Mike's help and Jess was left to himself. He looked around and inhaled deeply. The familiar scent of books was calming and he'd missed that while he'd been away. He'd been so grateful when Mike had agreed to give him a three-month sabbatical and told him to go out and have fun when he needed a change. But now he was back and he was really looking forward to "normal" life again.  

"Jess! Why don't you do your wonders on the storeroom this week? I can handle the shop with Molly" Mike's voice came from upstairs and Jess looked up at him with a grateful smile.

--------------------------------------------------

After work Rory had met with Lane, like she normally did on Mondays. They'd begun walking to the direction of the nearest park, enjoying the crisp air of the autumn afternoon. The girls stopped by a coffee-stand and after getting their steaming cups, they continued walking toward the park.

"Things are really good for you. I mean, you look really happy" Rory said when they sat down on a bench and lifted their coffee cups to their lips. 

"Yeah" Lane said and nodded determinedly. "Yeah, I am"

"I thought so" Rory said and smiled at her friend. 

Lane was happy, it was clear to everyone who saw her. She had everything in her life that she had always wanted. A job she loved at a music magazine, and a man she was absolutely crazy about. She and Dave were perfect for each other, two great people and Rory's best friends.

"What made you think of it?"

Rory had a great job at the New York Times, she'd got the ideal job for someone who had just graduated from Harvard. She had great colleagues at work, she had great friends, and she had a great family. She didn't have a man to love, she hadn't even had a "serious" relationship after high school, but that had never been a problem for her. She'd dated, gone out and had fun. She'd enjoyed being young.      

"I don't know. I just… Things are really great but I feel like maybe I need a change"

Lane looked at her friend observantly, Rory was warming her fingers around the coffee cup and looking at the kids playing further away on the grass. Lane's gaze followed hers and she giggled slightly when she asked if Rory was thinking of having a baby.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking about" she replied laughing and turned to her friend, tucking her legs under her on the bench. "I just… I'm feeling restless"

"Maybe it's just that this is all so new. I mean, you just moved together with Alicia…"

"Three months ago isn't really just" Rory interrupted Lane and smiled.

"Well, it's pretty just. And you have a new job, a stressful job. And Luke and Lorelai just got engaged… It's a lot of changes, Rory. Maybe that's the problem, too many changes, instead of too few"

Rory looked at Lane and nodded. Yeah, maybe. A lot had happened in the past few months, a lot of great things had happened in the past few months.

"But hey, why don't we go to your place and then I'll call Dave to get me from there when he gets off work? We can babble some more since he's gonna be late anyway"

"Sounds like a plan. I'll just finish this coffee, first" 

"So, any news about Alex? You gonna see him again?" Lane asked excitedly.

Rory shrugged and said she wasn't really interested in him.

"Besides, dating a colleague can get really awkward, especially if it doesn't work out"

"It might work out, you shouldn't give up on it right away"

"It won't work out, believe me" Rory said solemnly. 

"Why so?"

"Remember the first time you met Dave? Well, of course you do. And if I remember correctly, you knew from the very beginning that he was something special, something worth having, something that was really made for you"

Lane nodded when she listened to Rory, and a small smile rose on her face.

"It was 'the thing', the strange feeling you get. Something you can't put your finger on, but something inside you just tells you that the person is somehow… right"

Again, Lane nodded and said she knew exactly what Rory meant. The feeling had been there right from the start with Dave, and it was still there every time she saw him or just heard his name.

"So, I guess you can't say the same about Alex?"

Rory shook her head and then stood up throwing her now empty coffee cup to the nearest trashcan. 

"I guess I haven't really felt that way about anyone, but I'm sure the feeling isn't there with Alex. And it never will be" 

The girls begun walking toward the nearest subway station, talking about work, Dave, their plans to head home to Stars Hollow for the weekend. While walking, Rory looked at the people sitting on the benches, couples cuddling, and old man reading a newspaper, a guy reading a book. Although she was still listening to Lane, Rory squinted her eyes to see the book he was reading. He was holding it so it hid his face, but offered her a good view of the cover. They were still so far away that she couldn't see the title of it, but it looked like… When she got closer, she felt victorious. The book was Bukowski's Postoffice.  

"Hey, Rory, we could order pizza before Dave comes, right?" Lane asked and Rory turned to look at her and nodded enthusiastically. 

----------------------------------------------------

It was already 7 o'clock when Jess opened the door to his apartment , an airy studio, and quickly threw off his shoes and coat. He went to the phone, picked it up and dialled the number of a local pizza place. He was starving, and it was no wonder since he hadn't eaten after lunch. He'd expected to get home earlier, but instead he'd stopped at the park for a while to catch up on his reading and familiarize himself with his favourite spots again. Knowing that the pizza would arrive in twenty minutes, he went to the shower and by the time he'd got out and had the pizza and a beer in front of him, he felt like a new man.

It was good to be home. He liked his apartment, it was just big enough for one person, his friends lived nearby and his workplace was in a walking distance. Jess was just congratulating himself on his ideal place when he heard a knock on the door. He went to the door and wasn't surprised to see Tom leaning against the doorframe. 

"Hey, man, you abandoned us on Saturday"

Jess laughed at his friend and then went to the fridge to get two beers. When he turned to his friend again, he saw Tom sitting on an armchair with a slice of pizza in hand.

"Hey, help yourself to the food" he said sarcastically and Tom mumbled something in reply. "So, you guys went home alone?"

"On Saturday? Yeah, we left the bar pretty much right after you'd disappeared" Tom replied referring to himself and Chris, the third member of their "gang". 

Jess, Tom and Chris were friends from childhood, they'd all lived in the same building and all had pretty unstable family backgrounds. Jess had lived with his alcoholic mother, Tom had been taken care of by his older brother and Chris had lived with his grandmother. But despite their not so happy childhoods and turbulent teenage years, they'd all managed to get themselves pretty much together by now. Jess had his job at the bookstore, Chris was a bartender and Tom had a good job at his uncle's coffee shop. But despite being grown-ups, the guys still had their wild side, which was nowadays mostly apparent when it came to women.  

"So, have you seen Angie yet?" Jess asked quietly, not sure how his friend would react to the question.

Angie was Tom's girlfriend, or at least she had been for two years before he went off to California. They'd decided to get some distance to their relationship and see how they felt about each other after Tom got back.

"Yeah" Tom said and although he was clearly trying to sound nonchalant, Jess could see that he was fighting a smile.

"God, you're gone for good!" he laughed, but he was pleased to hear that Tom and Angie were giving it another try.

Tom had always been the wildest of the three guys, and Angie had done a remarkable job in taming him and still letting him be himself. Yeah, Jess liked Angie, and he knew that Tom would never manage to find a better girl for himself. And he didn't want to, judging from the grin on his face right now.  

"What can I say? There's no explaining of the things she does to me. But hey, what about the girl you hooked up with on Saturday? Your first day back in New York and right away, you get some action"

Jess shook his head at his friend, but smiled nonetheless. Trying to give Tom as little detail about the night as possible, he rubbed his face pensively. 

"It's just…" he started trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "The weirdest thing happened when I was sneaking away in the morning…"

"The girl ran after you and declared her undying love?" Tom suggested jokingly, but got an annoyed look from Jess as a reply.

"I went to grab some water and in the kitchen there was a girl, probably the other girl's roommate or something"

"Awkward, huh?" Tom said sympathetically. 

"Not really. I mean it was… Ah, I don't know what I'm saying" Jess shook his head to straighten his mind. "And then today…"

Jess wanted to smack himself for being so childish. He'd seen her at the park today, after work. He was sure it'd been her, she'd been with another girl, although not the one Jess had… well, had sex with just the other day. Anyway, Jess had seen her and hid behind his book so she wouldn't recognise him. And all the while he'd wanted to peak and take a look at her. He'd even considered saying hi, but then he just hadn't had the guts. And there was no reason to say hi to someone he didn't even know. The girl probably wouldn't have even remembered him.

"Ah, forget it" he eventually said impatiently. He didn't know why he was thinking about it anyway.

"Hey, why don't I give Chris a call and tell him to get his ass here with another pizza?"

"Sure. And if you're hoping to get more beer, tell him to bring some. You're drinking the last one" Jess told him when Tom grabbed the phone. 

A/N: So Rory is working at the New York Times and Jess works at a bookstore. I know, it's been like that many times before in many other stories, but there's a reason I chose those exact careers for them. Let's just say that this is a story about changes in all areas of life. You'll see what I mean later on…

And if you want to make me very happy and motivated to write, please do review!:)


	3. Chapter Three

TITLE: Familiar Feeling

AUTHOR: Annabel

PAIRING: R/J 

SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any

DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)

RATING: PG-13 for now.

A/N: Thank you everyone for reviewing, it means so much to me! I would have updated earlier, but life has been a mess and I've been incredibly busy. Also this chapter was incredibly difficult to write, because and it just didn't seem to turn out as I'd wanted. Oh, and just a few things for the record, the title of the story 'Familiar Feeling' is a song of Moloko, a British band, hence not my invention. 

So, in chapter three, in addition to seeing more of Jess and Rory separately, they finally meet again. Hope you like it!

Familiar Feeling

Chapter Three

"Mom, I've been talking to you for an hour. My hand hurts, I haven't been able to do any shopping and most of all I still haven't found Lane a birthday present" Rory whinged as she strolled along the sidewalk with a cell phone attached to her ear.

"Stop with the whining. I just don't understand why you couldn't come here this weekend"

"Because I was there last weekend. Lane and Dave were there, too, remember?"

"Is there some law prohibiting a child from visiting her mother every weekend that I'm not aware of?" Lorelai asked and made her daughter snort.

"Now look who's whining, mom" Rory said as she stopped to look at a shop window. "Besides you know that today is Lane's birthday and we wanted to have a party here"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Lorelai mumbled something on the other end of the line.  

"I'm really gonna end this call now, and I wanna remind you that your phone bills have been sky scraping lately, so the next time you're in desperate need of some company, try talking to Luke"

"Hah, that wasn't even funny" Lorelai was doing her best to sound offended, but she soon forgot it when she heard a bell ring through the phone. "Ooh, what was that?"

"What?" Rory asked and looked around in a place she knew she would soon be calling heaven.

"A bell rang" Lorelai insisted and made her daughter shake her head sadly.

"Get yourself a life, mom. I walked into a bookstore, there was a bell on the door" Rory said and let her eyes take in the sight. "In fact this is probably the most incredibly beautiful bookstore I've ever seen"

"Why so?"

"It's got books as far as the eye can see" Rory sighed contently. "So, I'm going to go explore. Bye mom"

"You can't just…" Rory heard her mother trying to yell something, but she simply chuckled when she switched off her phone and dropped it in her bag.

--------------------------------------------------------

Jess was leaning his elbows on the counter and occasionally he took a bite of the sandwich in front of him. Tom refilled the coffee cups of a few customers then came to Jess and sat down beside him. 

"I'm taking a break!" he told his uncle who was busy running around the coffeeshop.

This was an every day occurrence for Jess and Tom. Jess ate his lunch here since the coffeeshop was only a block away from his own workplace.  

"God, I'm exhausted" Tom sighed and yawned.

"Doesn't Angie let you sleep at night?" Jess asked and he was pretty sure that Tom was beginning to blush. Shaking his head slightly, Jess asked "So, you're going to her place tonight?" 

"Yeah" Tom voice sounded disturbingly happy and it made Jess's face frown.

No matter how happy Jess was for his friend, it was clear that Tom's bachelor days were over for good. And since Chris was a bartender he worked almost every night and now that Tom rarely wanted to go out anymore, Jess found his social life going through a change, too.

"Can you imagine that we spent two years in that 'we're dating, but not exclusively' -phase before we finally realised that we're really great together?" Tom was staring ahead dreamily and Jess had to smile, too. "I'm in love, Jess"

"Yeah, I kinda figured" he sighed with his mouth full of food.

Jess was definitely out of luck. Mike was walking on clouds because of his engagement to Kathy and now Tom had completely fallen for Angie. He could have managed one friend in love, but two… It was just a bit too much for him, since he wasn't really the most sentimental guy around. In fact, he was a guy who had never had a relationship which would have been based on more than physical interaction. 

"Yeah" Tom sighed again and then shook his head. "But two years? Can you imagine that I've been with her for two years and I never realised how incredible she is?"

"Yeah, incredible" Jess replied and stuffed the last bit of the sandwich into his mouth. 

"Every time I know I'm gonna see her, I get really… I get this strange feeling and I'm not nervous, but just really anxious and when she's there, it's like she's the most incredible thing I've ever seen"

"Huh" it was Jess's regular reply to everything and Tom seemed content with this response. "Anyway, I gotta get back to work"

"So, did Chris call you about tonight?" Tom asked and turned around on his stool. 

"Yeah, he did. But I thought you were going to Angie's" Jess said when he pulled on his coat.

"Yeah, but not until later. So, you know what this is about?"

"Not really, some party somewhere" Jess shrugged as he went to the door. "I guess we'll see"

"We'll come over to your place first"

Jess nodded and then stepped out to the chilly air. He took a deep breath and then put his hands in his pockets, finding his cigarettes and lighter. He strolled slowly back to work, lingered in front of the bookstore for a while, enjoying the cigarette and greeting some regular customers on their way into or out of the store. When he finally threw the cigarette away and opened the door to the store, he was grateful to escape the cold. 

Rubbing his hands together, he was about to go the backroom to take off his coat when Kathy suddenly jumped before him.

"God, you scared the shit out of me" he snapped at her and made her laugh.

"It's not my fault you're so jumpy! Anyway, I need you"

Jess looked at her questioningly when she grabbed his arm and pulled him with her to the backroom. She was grinning when she gave Jess a visiting card.

"What's this?" Jess said suspiciously as he eyed the card. 

"It's the card of the tailor who's gonna make your suit for the wedding" Kathy said as she sat down on the corner of the table.

"What suit?" Jess looked at her. 

"Hasn't Mike told you that you're his bestman?" 

"Well, yeah, but…" Jess looked at the card and winced when he thought of himself going to a tailor. 

"It didn't occur to you that if you're the bestman, you're gonna have to wear suit?" 

"I'm not really…" he started, hoping there was a way he could get out of this. 

"You are now" Kathy said and smiled contently. "Make an appointment there as soon as possible. All you have to do is go in for fittings, everything else is taken care of"

"But…" Jess looked at Kathy pleadingly, but knowing Kathy, he knew it was useless.  

"It's gonna be so much fun to see you in a tux" Kathy got up and kissed Jess's forehead. "I gotta run now" she said before she swirled from the room and left Jess wiping the lipstick off his temple. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure you won't come?" Rory asked Alicia before she stuffed her mouth full of pizza. 

"Yeah" Al said after she'd took a gulp of her soda. 

Rory nodded and wiped her mouth before drinking the last drop of coffee from her mug. She got up to refill it and then said that Lane would be disappointed not to see her at the party.

"You'll take my gift to her and she won't even notice I'm not there. And besides, I'm really looking forward to this date" Alicia giggled slightly while she talked. "I haven't been out on a real date in forever"

"True" Rory admitted with a smile. "But now I really need your help. I have to get going in 45 minutes and I still haven't decided what to wear"

"I think you should definitely wear that black dress of yours. You look so hot in it…" Al followed Rory to her room and went straight to her closet. "Are you guys going to a club or something later?"

"Probably somewhere, yeah" Rory said when she looked at the dress Al was holding up. "You don't think that's too… revealing?" 

"With your body, this is just perfect. Besides, what's the harm of showing a little skin, right"

"I guess so" Rory said with a smile. "What are you gonna wear tonight?"

Alicia smiled apprehensively when she said that she'd hoped to borrow one of Rory's sweaters. 

"Of course you can borrow it" Rory said when Al started going through her closet. "So, what did you get Lane?"

"I got her a…" Al pulled out the sweater and showed it to Rory. "With my black pants?" she asked and after Rory had nodded she continued talking. "I her got the earrings that we looked at the other day"

"Oh, yeah. Those were beautiful, very rock'n roll" Rory said approvingly and then sighed. "Gosh, I should be at Lane's in 45 minutes, since I promised to help with stuff"

"You're doing the punch?" Al asked and got a nod as a reply.  

"What did you get her?"

"Oh, just s stack of cds and a book on punk. She pretty much told me what she wanted so I didn't have to think about it, although finding the stuff was a lot tougher"

"So, you think she'll like the earrings?" 

"Yeah, she will. And if she doesn't, I wouldn't mind having them myself"

------------------------------------------------------------------

It was around ten when Jess and the guys were standing in the corridor of some apartment building, waiting for someone to answer the door. There were loud noises coming through it, music, people talking and laughing. Jess saw Chris yawning and Tom checking out his watch and he figured they wouldn't stay at the party for long. And why would they anyway? Chris was the only one who knew someone there and they'd only been asked to go because apparently the party needed some single guys. 

Finally, the door opened and a guy stood in front of them with a grin on his face. After introducing himself as Dave, he greeted the guys with handshakes and pulled then into the apartment, just as a female voice shouted

"Rory! We're out of punch, will you fix some more?"

"That's Lane" Dave said laughing and pulled and Asian-looking girl to his side. "Lane, these guys are Jess, Tom and Chris" 

"Hey, great to meet you!" she squealed and hugged them all quickly. "Thanks so much for coming guys. We have loads of single girls here for you" she winked and made the guys chuckle. 

Jess scouted the apartment, only to find it absolutely packed with people. He was pretty sure that they would never fit into it, but then Dave said that they should go to the kitchen. 

"A good choice, that's where the punch it" Lane said with a giggle and led the way.

The guys followed Lane and Dave, leaving Jess as the last of the gang. He was immediately bombarded by some girls who seemed to be checking him out rather indiscreetly. Giving them an awkward smile, he made his escape to the kitchen, only to see something he wasn't expecting to see. 

It was one of those moments when he wanted to pinch himself to make sure he was awake. Although he wasn't sure if he wanted to be awake since this was really… He didn't even know the word, because there wasn't a single thought in his mind, not now when he was staring at the girl who was standing by the punch bowl with a bottle of vodka in her hand. She was wearing a black dress, a beautiful dress which made her… well, beautiful. And her hair was tied up on a bun of some sort and her cheeks were flushed, probably because of the alcohol. And she was looking at him, and the expression on her face probably mirrored the one on his. 

"Do you guys know each other?"

Lane's voice brought him out of the stupor and he realised that he was staring at the girl and everyone else in the room was silent. And then his brain started to work, with maximum speed. It really wasn't possible that she was standing there, in city as big as New York was, how was it possible? And if it was she, then this was really embarrassing. He was staring at her like some idiot and she probably didn't even remember him. Although considering the look on her face, she seemed to remember him. But should he say that they knew each other, did she want him to say that they knew each other? Should he say why they knew each other…

"We've bumped into each other" her words made their way into his brain slowly and when he now looked at her, he saw that she had a tiny smile on her face.

He realised that he'd been holding his breath and after he inhaled, he felt his whole body loosening up and he seemed to get his brain into its normal mode again.

"Yeah" he said quietly and by now, the humour as well as the shock of the situation was starting to reach him. 

So, he sighed slightly and suddenly he felt strangely comfortable looking at her, while she was looking at him with her head slightly tilted and curious expression on her face. And then he did what came naturally, he took a step forward, keeping a safe distance and he reached out his hand. 

"I'm Jess" he said and he noticed her breathing in when she took his hand. 

"I'm Rory" she replied and he had a hard time concentrating on what she said when her hand felt so small while it was enveloped by his. 

Jess took a step back again, allowing Tom and Chris to introduce themselves, too. Now, the girl, or Rory, seemed to notice that she was still holding the bottle in her left hand and she put it down on the table. 

"So, where have you guys met?" and so Dave asked the question, bringing Jess back to the reality that he had almost managed to forget.  

The girl, it was hard to think of her as Rory looked at him and seemed to be hesitating. Jess felt curious eyes looking at them, until Tom broke the silence.

"At the bookstore?"

The girl lifted her eyebrows and looked at Jess questioningly. Jess glanced at Tom who seemed somewhat unsure of whether he'd blown the whole thing up, but when the girl nodded, both guys sighed in relief. 

"We should have known" Lane said giggling when she brought her punch cup to her lips. "So, you two just bumped into each other at a bookstore?" 

"I work there" Jess said quickly and the girl eyes turned to him sharply. 

"You work in a bookstore Jess? God, you must be Rory's ideal man!" Dave cried out and made Lane laugh. "Well, it looks like Rory has finished the punch so get to it guys"

Tom and Chris didn't have to be told twice and when they headed toward the punch bowl, the girl took a few steps back and glanced at Jess who followed the others and soon had a glass in his hand.

"I love this punch, I could drink it uncontrollably" Lane said when she sat down and sipped her drink.

"You do drink it uncontrollably" Rory said with a smile and Dave said he'd been just about the say the same thing. 

"Ha, ha, very funny" Lane said with a grin. "So, you like it guys?"

Jess took a big gulp of the punch, hoping to feel more together as soon as it would start affecting him. Meanwhile he turned to look at Rory who was leaning on the fridge with a questioning look on her face. 

"It's good" he told her and got a smile as reply. 

-----------------------------------------------------------

It was 1am when Rory was sitting on a barstool next to Lane, sipping some water from her glass and listening to Lane complaining about Dave. They'd left the apartment approximately an hour ago, and while most of the people had gone off clubbing, some had decided to head for the bar where Chris worked, which was lot a calmer place meant more for drinking than dancing. However, Dave had been exhausted and he'd decided to stay in.  

"It's my birthday, and he can't stay awake!" Lane whined and leaned against the counter.

Rory nodded slightly with an amused look on her face. Lane was really, really drunk, while she herself had drunk very little after… Well, after Jess and the other guys had shown up at the party. Rory realised that her thoughts were nowhere near Lane and after shaking her head slightly, she concentrated on her friend again. 

"Lane, you know very well that you have probably the greatest guy on the planet" Rory said and got her reply when Lane started to giggle girlishly. 

"Yeah, I know" she said when she eventually sighed and looked incomprehensibly happy. "You know, things have never ever been this good for me and Dave. Cause I really, really, really am crazy about him"

"That you are" Rory replied and laughed. "And Dave's crazy about you"

"Yeah. He's ideal, perfect, incredible…"

"Yeah, he is" Rory sighed and did her best to look bitter and jealous.

"Do you girls mind if I join you?" his voice startled her and when she turned to see him, she saw a smirk on his face.

"We don't mind at all" Lane said loudly and took her drink from the counter. "But, I think I'll leave you two alone to…" Lane began the process of getting of her stool, but the task seemed easier said than done. 

"Here, let me help you" Jess came to her and after putting his arm around her, he practically lifted her down and made sure that she able to stand. "Maybe you should thinking about heading home, too" he suggested cautiously and his remark made Rory smile.

"You're cute" Lane told him before she wandered off and left the two more sober one alone.

"I think I'll get her home soon" Rory said when she'd been left alone with Jess. "It' usually around this time when she's totally exhausted and just wants to get to bed"

He nodded with a smile and as he sat down on the stool next to her, Rory smelled the mixture of cologne and cigarettes floating around her. She took a deep breath, hoping that he wouldn't notice it and when he looked at her, she smiled a bit timidly.

"So, you work at a bookstore?" she said and made him smirk. 

"Yeah. Look, I'm sorry about the whole thing… I mean, Tom figured that you and I had… you know and he thought it best to save us from any awkward revelations"

"It's okay. I mean, the truth was somewhat…"

"Awkward, too" he said and smiled rather uncomfortably.  

Yeah, the truth was somewhat awkward, no doubt about it. But Rory didn't really want to think about it now and therefore she brought the discussion back to a subject where she always felt comfortable. 

"So, which bookstore?" she asked and made him look slightly more relaxed, too. 

"Oh, just a small one that's actually not far from here…" she listened to him telling her about the store and after he'd told her where it was, she nearly fell of her stool.  

"Oh my God, I was there, just today!"

Jess looked at her somewhat surprised and she told him how she'd gone last minute shopping for Lane's birthday and bough a book for her from the store.

"I was working today, but I didn't see you" he said pensively. "But maybe I was in the backroom, or having a break or something… So, what did you get Lane?"

"The history of the punk movement" Rory declared happily, since the book had been a real discovery. "But really, the bookstore is… absolutely beautiful" she found she words she was looking for and then smiled broadly. "It must be great working there, I mean, I know I'd love it since I'm completely obsessed with books"

"Yeah, I know what that's like" he smiled when he said that and for some reason it made Rory want to smile uncontrollably. "I know the guy who owns the store, have known him for all my life, so it's almost like a home for me. I used to hang around there as a kid and I finally knew every book in the store so he sort of had to hire me"

Rory laughed and nodded feeling like she knew exactly what he was talking about. 

"So, what do you do?"

"I'm a journalist" she said and saw him lifting his eyebrows like he was impressed.

"Where?"

"The New York Times" this time her reply was slightly more timid, because for some reason she didn't feel so comfortable talking about her work with him. 

"Ivy League graduate?" he asked her with a smile and again she felt somewhat self-conscious when she nodded. "Yeah, I thought so" he chuckled slightly. "I didn't even go to college"

"Why so?" Rory asked with her head slightly tilted and her eyes carefully observing him and his expressions. 

"You know, never had the motivation, never had the money…" he trailed off and then smiled a bit. "I've never been into school. But this New York Times thing must be a dream come true for you"

Rory nodded, thinking that she couldn't have said it better herself. She'd always dreamed of being a journalist, a foreign correspondent actually, and she had a very good chance of accomplishing just that.

"You know, I'm pretty impatient and all so my life has been pretty unplanned. I like to do things in a spur of moment kind of way, spontaneously…" Jess talked pensively. 

Rory had never been spontaneous. She'd always planned, she'd always had dreams and she'd gone after them and made then true. She had never even thought about being impulsive, let alone reckless and now that she was listening to Jess, she felt… strange.

"I just spent three months in California with Tom and Chris, we got back… Well, when you and I first met, I'd just got back to New York the day before" Jess's words made Rory nod slightly and before she had a chance to say anymore, Lane came back to her and put her hand on Rory's shoulder.

"I'm tired" she yawned and made Rory look at Jess with a grin. "Can I come over to your place tonight?" 

"Yeah, sure" Rory replied laughing and then stood up. "You're gonna stay?" she asked Jess, who then shook his head.

"Well, since Tom's already headed home and it looks like Chris has met his match for the night, so I think I'll be heading home, too. I'll hail you a cab" he said and then helped a coat onto Lane before they all went out.

They were all standing on the sidewalk, beside the taxi Jess had got for the girls when he said he hoped that Lane had had a fun birthday.

Rory was standing a bit further away while Lane and Jess were talking, and in the darkness he seemed somehow really… Rory remembered what she'd thought of him when she'd first seen him in her kitchen. Intriguing, new and definitely mysterious like right now, in the middle of the night. 

"Would you mind, if I hugged you quickly?" Lane asked and giggled slightly, when Jess pulled her into his embrace and then placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'm so glad that Dave asked you guys over" Lane said to him before she tumbled into the taxi. 

"So, it was nice to see you again, Jess" Rory said and smiled when she stood by the cab's door.

"You, too, Rory. I hope I'll see you at the bookstore sometime"

Despite the coldness of the street and the fact that she was practically shivering, she felt her cheeks getting hotter and she hoped he wouldn't be able to see her blushing in the darkness. Quickly she got

into the cab and wished him goodnight. It took her great willpower to stop herself from turning to look at him when they drove off, but luckily Lane distracted her when she laid her head on Rory's shoulder.

"I had fun" she yawned and Rory hoped she wouldn't pass out before they got to her place.

"Yeah, me too" Rory said and closed her eyes when she leaned her head on Lane's. 

A/N: Reviews, reviews, reviews, please!


	4. Chapter Four

TITLE: Familiar Feeling

AUTHOR: Annabel

PAIRING: R/J 

SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any

DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)

RATING: PG-13 for now.

A/N: Again, thanks so much for the reviews. I'm writing this story slowly, due to an overwhelming amount of exams and essays that I have to write, hopefully around Christmas I'll get more stuff done and I'll be able to concentrate better. Oh, and about the rating, it says 'PG-13 for now', but that doesn't mean that this story is gonna be about sex or anything like that. If the rating goes up at some point, it will be much later on, so the 'for now' is just a precaution to keep my options open.

But now, here's chapter four

Familiar Feeling

Chapter Four

"Ror? Are you awake?"

"Huh?" Rory responded to Lane's voice by mumbling drowsily and rolling on her back. 

"Are you awake?" Lane asked again and this time Rory opened her eyes to peak a look at her friend.

"Why are you awake at this hour?" Rory asked, when Lane crawled back to bed and slipped under the covers. 

"It's one in the afternoon and I've been throwing up for the last two hours" Lane sighed and fell on her back.

Rory reached for her alarm clock and after seeing how late it really was, she laid down beside Lane. 

"Throwing up, huh?"

"Yeah, the worst hangover of my life" Lane said and tugged herself better under the blankets. "But I feel better now"

"Good" Rory yawned and the rolled on her side so that she could look at Lane. "So, you had fun last night?"

Lane nodded, and then turned to look at Rory properly. With her eyebrows knit together, she looked somewhat worried.

"I didn't do anything really embarrassing, did I?"

"Depends on what you define as 'really embarrassing'" Rory replied, but when Lane lifted her eyebrow, Rory shook her head and said that she'd behaved well. "Although, you did practically fall on Jess's arms and you told him how cute he was"

"But that's it?"

"Pretty much so" 

Rory closed her eyes again and enjoyed the warm feeling she had under the covers. She wouldn't have minded falling asleep again, but with Lane awake that was hardly gonna happen. Rory's thought drifted to the previous night and everything that had happened. It had been an unforgettable evening, really… strange. It was such an incredible coincidence that she'd bumped into that guy again, or Jess. So, his name was Jess. Yeah, he looked like a Jess, definitely. And he looked nice, really nice. And he'd smelled nice, too. And he worked at a bookstore, which was another weird coincidence. But it had been fun, after she'd gotten past the shock of seeing him again. He'd been nice, although nice wasn't probably the right word. And his friend had thought that he'd had a thing with her, how weird was that. Especially when he'd had a thing with her roommate. A thing? No, it wasn't a thing. He'd slept with Alicia, had sex with Alicia, he'd… Rory felt like frowning when she got a vision in her head about Jess and Alicia.   

Rory was about to slap herself for even thinking about it, when Lane's voice brought her back to reality again. 

"So, you and Jess, huh?"

Rory opened her eyes instantly and looked at Lane with a questioning look on her face. 

"What?"

"You and Jess. I haven't forgotten everything about last night. I mean, you were talking at the bar… You've met him before…"

"There is no me and Jess" Rory said and after the words had escaped her mouth, she realised that they'd perhaps sounded a bit too forceful. 

"Okay" Lane looked at her suspiciously and after a minute's silence, she slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God! You've slept with him, haven't you?"

Rory's eyes widened when she heard Lane's words and she sat up on the bed while shaking her head. 

"No, I haven't!"

"Yes, you have" Lane said and sat up, too. "That's why you were so surprised to see him and that thing about the bookstore… Hah, I knew there was something wrong with this picture, you two were so awkward… My God…" Lane stared at Rory in awe.

"Gosh Lane, I swear to you, _I_ have never slept with him" Rory said sternly, but Lane missed the stress on the word _I_. 

"So, you met him at a bookstore?" Lane said in disbelief, but now Rory shook her head. "Then where?"

"In my kitchen" Rory sighed and fell on her back again, pulling the blankets to cover her head. 

--------------------------------------------------

"Maybe you should go home tonight instead of going to Angie's" Jess said as he sat down on a barstool next to Tom who was yawning with his eyes closed. 

"Angie's staying with me tonight" Tom said and smirked at Jess. "Besides, it's not her fault that I'm tired, at least not completely. I've been working overtime for the past week and then you're dragging me out every night"

"I asked you for one beer" Jess said defensively, and then scowled. "Believe me, I really need it. I ate dinner at Mike and Kathy's and the only thing we talked about was the wedding"

"You're the bestman, right?" Tom asked and after Jess had nodded, Tom looked at him sympathetically. "Can't say I envy you"

Jess shook his head slightly and then grabbed the beer from the counter. He took a big gulp and enjoyed the feeling of the cold liquid running down his throat. 

"So, what about Saturday?"

"Huh?"

"You, the girl… got lucky?"

Jess looked at Tom and his questioning face, and then turned his gaze to the beer bottle again. 

"It wasn't like that. I thought I told you that I'd slept with her roommate"

"And why would that stop you from sleeping with her? If I remember right it hasn't stopped you before"

Tom did remember right. It was one of the cool things of the past, how Jess had managed to date and sleep with two girls who were roommates without the girls ever finding out about the fact that they were with the same guy. But that had been ages ago, well, at least a few years ago.

"Maybe I've grown up" Jess suggested with a shrug and caused for Tom to nearly choke to his beer. "Besides, she wasn't that kind of a girl" he said determinedly.

"Well, all I can say is that she was hot. If I didn't have Angie, I'd be going after her in a second"

"Yeah, I know you would" Jess smirked and brought the beer to his lips again. 

Jess knew that Tom was looking at him observantly and considering that state that Tom was in right now, meaning very much in love, Jess knew what to expect from him.

"Maybe you and she could… I mean, if you're interested in her you should ask her out or something"

Jess had never asked anyone out, at least not on a real date. And most certainly not without the intention of getting something in return. He didn't know how to date, or what to do on a date. 

"She's way out of my league" he said nonchalantly and focused on his beer again. 

"You could have any girl you want, Jess. Why not her?"

"I can get them to bed, but I can't get much further than that"

"Have you ever tried?" Tom asked and Jess felt that their discussion was becoming a bit too deep and personal for him. 

"Hey, leave it man" he said while shaking his head and looking at his beer intensely. "I have nothing in common with her anyway, so there's no point thinking about it"

"So, you talked with her?"

Jess said he'd talked with her later that night, when Tom had already went home. He'd talked with her and found out that she was from a completely different world than him. And she was still living in a completely different world than he was.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked curiously.

"A good girl from a good family. Ivy league, New York Times… You know, really not my type"

"Angie's been to college and she has a normal family, we're still good together"

"The exception proves the rule" Jess said and smirked at his friend. "Anyway, I'm finished with this beer so let's get out of here"

"Yeah, Angie's probably waiting for me anyway" Tom said when he threw a bill on the counter and followed Jess out to the street. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Rory got out of the office building and the bright sun made her squint her eyes when she started strolling along the sidewalk. She usually hated Wednesdays; it was the day of the week when you had a load of work behind you and the same amount ahead of you. But this Wednesday was good, it was just noon and she was already off work. Well, it was due to all the overtime she'd put in lately and her boss had said he'd rather give her some time off than pay it in her salary. But Rory didn't mind it at all, in fact she was grateful for being able to escape work for a while. She really needed a break right now.

She reached her regular lunch place, but instead of entering it, she took her cell phone from her back and dialled the number she called practically every day.

"Hello" the voice on the other end said, sounding very official.

"Hey, Lane, it's me"

"Hey" her friend's voice changed back to it's cheery usually self.

"I was wondering, do you have time for lunch?" Rory asked when she continued walking toward the nearest subways station. 

There was a short silence, then Rory heard some giggling from the other end of the phone line.

"Yeah, I do actually" Lane squealed and sounded disturbingly happy. "Can you come here or…"

"Yeah, I'm off work so I have time. I'll be outside the building in ten minutes"

"See you then"

Rory make the way to Lane's office in just five minutes and she was surprised to see her friend already waiting for her outside her office. Lane grabbed her hand and started pulling her anxiously along the sidewalk.

"Are you in a hurry or what?" Rory asked laughing when seeing Lane so excited. 

"Nah, not really. Just starving" she replied and then hooked hands with Rory and slowed their pace. "So, how come you're off work?"

"You know, just did so much overtime last week and all. You know, I really need this, I mean the time off. I've been really exhausted lately"

"Maybe that's why you've been feeling so anxious" Lane said pensively. "Just try to relax. Don't think about work"

"Yeah…"

Lane stopped abruptly and then opened the door to a smallish coffeeshop. Rory looked at her questioningly and after Lane had nodded, they entered the place and took seats in a vacant table by the window.

"You eat here often?" Rory asked while taking off her coat. 

"Just once before" Lane said with a tiny smile and then looked around the place. "A waiter should come by soon" she said, her eyes still directed off Rory. 

"You know, I'm just used to grabbing a burger for lunch" Rory said with a grin and then adjusted herself better on her chair. "But this looks like a nice place, though. Cosy, it has some character"

"Yeah, I think so, too" Lane said with a wide smile and then turned to look at Rory. "So, about work, you really need to find a way to relax?"

"I just think…" Rory started, not finding the words right away. "I don't really…" 

"Well, hello ladies"

Both Rory and Lane turned simultaneously to look at the guy standing next to their table and looking at them with a smile. Rory stared at him with wide eyes and after getting over the initial shock, she glanced at Lane only to see her friend beaming. 

"Hey Tom" Lane said casually. "You know, the sandwich I had here the other day was so good that I had to come back"

"Oh, you just keep telling yourself that Lane, but we both know that my irresistible charm is behind these reoccurring visits" Tom chuckled and his words made Rory smile a bit, although she was still trying to get over the surprise. "So, what will you girls have?"

"Um, I'll have the ham sandwich and a coke"

"Sure" Tom scribbled it down in his pad and then looked at Rory with a smile on his face. "And you Rory?"

He even remembered her name. How weird was this? And how did Lane happen to eat here, where this guy worked? And why had she brought Rory here? The questions were just flooding in her head, until she realised that Tom was still waiting for her order. 

"Oh, I'll have… A sandwich, too and coffee. Put it in the biggest cup you've got"

"Okay, I'll be back soon" he said and hurried off leaving the girls alone.

Rory's eyes followed him and then turned to see Lane who was sitting on her chair casually and looking at Rory with a knowing look on her face. With her eyebrows knit together, Rory looked at her friend, understanding dawning slowly. 

"You knew Tom worked here?"

"Yeah" 

"You just happened to bump into him here?" Rory asked suspiciously, and slightly fearing the answer Lane might give her.

"Nope. Dave told me he worked here"

"Oh" Rory said and looked toward the counter again, only to see Tom talking with an older man behind the counter. "Oh"

"Yeah" Lane nodded again and seemed to be enjoying the situation. 

"So, why did we come here now?" 

"Cause I got to rethink all that I said on Sunday" Lane spoke slowly, observing Rory's face while she spoke. "About Jess"

Now it really hit Rory, actually it felt like she'd just been punched, and hard. She realised where she was, only a block away from the bookstore where Jess worked, at a coffeeshop where his best friend worked. And Lane had brought her here, because… Because she'd changed her mind about what she'd said on Sunday.

"Remember? We talked in bed, about Jess, him sleeping with Al" Lane glanced around her and lowered her voice. "I said that you shouldn't even think about him again, I said it could never work out since he's had sex with a friend of yours"

"I do remember" Rory hissed. "And I told you I wasn't interested in him anyway"

"Exactly, except that I knew you were so I…"

"Hey" Rory cried out and interrupted her. "I am not interested in him, okay" she whispered again.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, anyway, after talking about it with Dave, I changed my mind" Lane nodded back in her chair again and seemed pleased with herself.

"You talked to Dave? You told Dave about all of this" Rory cried out and nearly bounced off her chair. "How could you do that?" 

"Hey, I just thought that a male perspective would be good" Lane said defensively and tapped Rory's hand trying to calm her down. "Besides I always tell him everything about your love life"

"No, you don't" Rory said disbelievingly, but Lane just nodded and smiled slightly.

"Well, of course I tell him. Who else would I talk about it with?"

"Well, how about no one?" Rory snapped and crossed her arms before her chest. 

"Come on, Rory. He said it wasn't that bad. I mean, things like this happen, it's not like Jess and Alicia were really involved, it was just sex… And now I have a vision in my head…" Lane frowned and made Rory smile involuntarily.

"Yeah, I've had it, too" she said quietly, but then shook her head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I don't really… I mean, I'm not…"

"You're not?" 

"No, I'm not" Rory said with a determined voice. "I don't even know anything about him, how could I…" 

"Ror, listen to me. You know loads of stuff about him. You know this guy is good-looking, or should I say, extremely good-looking. He's fun, he likes books which is a huge bonus. He works in a bookstore, meaning discounts for you and that's an even bigger bonus" Lane's words made Rory look at her amusedly, but she wasn't finished yet. "I saw the way you looked at him, so he made you feel something and from I know, that doesn't happen too often. You're 24-years-old Rory, I mean, there's a guy who might be perfect for you, so why waste the time in denial. And you already know that he's good in bed, so what else do you need? The guy is made for you!"

"I usually prefer guys who haven't been tested out my by friends" Rory said and stopped talking when she saw Tim heading their way. 

"Back again" he said happily as he put their orders down on the table. "You know, you guys missed Jess by the minute. He left just before you came in"

"Well, maybe we'll stop by at the bookstore he works at, I mean it's close by, right?"

"Yeah, just a block away" 

"Rory loves books so she'll probably want to stop by. I'll have to see if I have the time before I have to get back to work" Lane's words made Rory glance at her warningly, but Lane just smiled at Tom. "And you know, how Rory and Jess met, at the bookstore?" 

Rory saw Lane winking at Tom and the moment he turned his slightly amused and hesitant gaze to Rory, her face was getting redder by the second.  

"Right" he said quietly and noticing Rory's embarrassment he took a step back. "Well, I've got to head back to work. I'll see you… later"

"Yeah" Rory said to him with a rather forced smile and as soon as he'd turned his back on the two girls, Rory turned to Lane. 

"Look who's blushing" Lane smiled devilishly and giggled.

"I hate you, you know that?" Rory said when she took a bite of her sandwich and shook her head still in disbelief by Lane's behaviour. 

"I've always known" Lane sighed pretending to be miserable, but then her lips curved into a smile. "But you're so going to that bookstore, Ror"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jess, will you go to the counter if I go for lunch?" Mike peaked into the storage and saw Jess browsing through a book that he was holding. 

"Yeah, sure. Molly's somewhere?" 

"Yeah, she's around. I'll be back in thirty"

Jess followed Mike to the store and while Mike was pulling on his coat he said that Kathy would probably stop by to pick up some books on wedding planning.

"We have books on wedding planning?" Jess looked shocked and made Mike laugh out loud.

"Believe it, or not, we do. They're in the backroom for her" 

Jess leaned on the counter after Mike had left and shook his head slightly. This wedding was starting to get on his nerves, it was the only thing Mike talked about these days. And he still hadn't made than appointment to the tailor's, and he really didn't want to make it. If he'd known that being a bestman would be so much work and he'd have to be this involved in all the planning that took place, he would have gratefully declined. He was so not the type to like weddings, let alone planning them.

Jess sighed slightly and scouted the bookstore to see that things were relatively quiet. Molly was standing by the children's books with an older man and a little girl, talking with a wide smile on her face. Molly, a college student who helped at the store almost every day, was a real customer service miracle. She was always on a good mood and she liked customers, unlike Jess who would have rather spent his days alone and far away from customers. But Jess knew that what Mike appreciated about him wasn't his charming personality, but his knowledge about literature and his passion for it. Jess didn't really know what he would rather do in the world than be involved with books. 

Jess's gaze moved to a couple standing a bit further away, cuddling and smiling to each other in a way that made Jess grimace. He hated people who were in love, they honestly didn't know how stupid they looked. He was about to turn to the computer, when his eyes met two distinctively blue eyes, which were surrounded by dark brown hair and rosy cheeks. He didn't even know it, but his lips started to curve into a smile when he looked at the few strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail and were now framing her face. 

"Hey" 

She had been leaning against a shelf and now she took a few steps toward him, ending up just a few feet away, on the other side of the counter.

"Hey" he said in response and nodded slightly. 

They were both silent for a while, Jess looked at her, trying to take in all that he saw. The expression of her face was… mixed, to say the least. In a way, she was looking at him so effortlessly and openly, but at the same time Jess thought she seemed nervous and perhaps a bit shy. 

"Shouldn't you be at work, or something?" Jess finally asked her after realising that it was only one in the afternoon. 

"I have the rest of the day off. I've worked overtime so…"

Jess nodded and then found himself observing her again. The way her head was slightly tilted and the way her scarf was carelessly thrown over her coat. And the way she was holding her mittens in her other hand.

"So… I'm gonna go and see the poetry section upstairs. I didn't have time to check it out on Saturday…"

"It's good" Jess nodded seriously. "And if you can't find something right away, we have more stuff in the back"

"Okay" she smiled at him and then turned to leave. "You wouldn't happen to remember if you have something by Leonard Cohen…" she looked at him somewhat cautiously, but her words made him smirk.

"Well, this is your lucky day. I was just browsing through some of his stuff in the back. I can…" he silenced for a minute and then glanced at the other direction. "Hey, Molly! I'm gonna go to the back and get something, okay?"

After getting a positive response from Molly, Jess told Rory to follow him.

"I can come to the back with you?" she asked quietly, but he smiled reassuringly saying that it was okay. "I think we have only one book of Cohen in the shelf, but we have more stuff here"

They came to the storeroom and when Jess went to get of box filled with books, he noticed that Rory was standing by the door of the room and looking around her in awe. 

"This is incredible" she said when she came further into the room and swirled around to catch a glimpse of the whole room. "I could spend hour rummaging through this place… And it's really organised"

Jess chuckled saying that he'd spent a week organising it and putting thing back to their rightful places. 

"I'm not really organized unless it comes to books"

"I know what you mean" Rory said quietly and then turned to Jess who had put the box he'd been holding down on a table. "This is all Cohen?" she asked him and after getting a nod as a reply she eagerly started going through the books. 

"So, you like Cohen, too?"

"Well…" she started talking somewhat hesitantly. "I haven't, but the other day I saw one of his poems in this magazine and it just… You how, felt that I should give him another chance"

"You should"

Jess looked at her, how she opened the books one by one and looked at them with such concentration, which intrigued him. She seemed completely lost in her own world and just when he was about to say that he should get back to the store, she took one book from the box and said that she'd take it. 

"Selected poems, 1956-1968" Jess looked at the book and then saw her nod in confirmation. "You want anything else?"

"No, this is good for now" Rory said as she watched him put the box back on the shelf and then followed him to the store.

Molly was still with customers when Jess and Rory got to the counter. 

"How much is the book?" she asked when he tapped something on the computer. 

"It's 10,50" he said and then put the book in a bag for her.

"It can't be that cheap" she said and eyed him suspiciously. "You didn't give me a discount?"

"Just a small one, a friendly favour" his words made her laugh and he absorbed the sound while it made him smile.

"Well, you really don't have to" 

"It's really not that much" he insisted.

"It's too much"

Jess looked at her and knew that she wouldn't accept the discount. But then he got an idea.

"Okay then. But if you won't take the discount now, you'll have to by next Sunday, we're having an autumn sale. I can help you find some great stuff"

Her eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly. Jess had to stop himself at the last minute so he wouldn't laugh out loud. 

"Next Sunday?" she said and after he'd nodded, her smile grew wider. "Okay, then. Will you be working?"

"Probably" Jess said and sighed slightly, trying to look depressed while she paid the proper price for book and he put it in a bag for her. 

"So, no partying for you on Saturday night?"

"Guess not, though I'm pretty sure it's only a good thing"

Rory nodded and then took a step back. 

"I'll see you on Sunday then" she said once again and made him want to beam uncontrollably. 

"Yeah. Enjoy your day off"

"I have every intention of doing just that. Well, it was nice to see you again, Jess" she replied and hearing her say his name made him smile.

"Yeah, you too, Rory. And I wanna hear your opinion on Cohen next Sunday"

"Don't worry, you will" she smiled and left the store, leaving Jess to stand and stare at the now closed door in haze.

He was still leaning on the counter a while later, staring down at the pair of mittens she'd forgotten to take with her. And he was feeling… Well, probably more shaken than ever before in his life. 

"You know that you've been staring at the counter for the past five minutes?"

Jess didn't look up, instead he kept looking at the pair of mittens he was now holding. 

"Jess?"

"Yeah?" he looked up and saw Molly watching him curiously. 

"So, who was the girl?"

"What girl?" came another female voice from behind him.

Jess turned around and saw Kathy looking at him with a curious smile. 

"What girl?" she asked again and then looked past Jess at Molly. "Jess has a girl? I wanna know everything about this"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Jess sighed and turned to look at the computer. 

"Come on. These mittens right here" Molly picked them up from the desk and made Jess look up at her. 

"A customer forgot them here" he said and snatched them from Molly's hand. "I'll put them under the counter in case she comes back for them"

Kathy gave Molly a knowing look and then nodded slowly. Jess glanced at them and then shook his head. He didn't need these two getting excited about this, it would lead to no good, he was sure of that. And if the girl, Rory, would come back on Sunday and these two would see her, he knew that they'd be everything but tact and they'd embarrass him for sure.

"Well, you knew the girl from somewhere. I haven't seen you smiling like that in front of anyone before" Molly said determinedly.

"Smiling?" Kathy asked. "Ah, then she couldn't have been any of Jess's old conquests. Although we know he has his share of those" her voice was playfully judgmental. "No, if she'd been his old flame he would have been squirming, not smiling"

"She wasn't anything like that" Jess eventually sighed. "She's no one, really. You guys are wasting your energy on this"

"Really?" Kathy said and lifted her eyebrow curiously. 

"Okay, I'm going to the back and I'll stay there until you've both calmed down" he told Molly and as he walked past Kathy he heard the two giggling behind his back. 

A/N: Make my day and review…:)


	5. Chapter Five

TITLE: Familiar Feeling

AUTHOR: Annabel

PAIRING: R/J 

SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any

DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)

RATING: PG-13 for now.

A/N: With the risk of sounding boring, I have to say, once again, that I love you guys for giving me feedback. Whether it's just one word or an in-depth analysis of what I've written, I'm so happy to receive it. 

But now, here is Chapter Five for you. Enjoy!

Familiar Feeling

Chapter Five

Rory was sitting by her desk at the office, putting some papers in her bag and making sure she had everything she needed to finish an article during the weekend. She had just finished one piece and she was gonna take it to her editor before heading home. 

"Thank God it's Friday!" Al's voice made her look up from her papers and she saw her friend standing on the other side of the desk. "Are you ready to go home? I though we could go and buy some food for tonight"

Lane was coming over to Rory and Al's place tonight, they were having a girls night. Originally also Alicia's best friend Emma was supposed to join them, but she'd got sick and hence it was just the three of them. 

"Umm…" Rory looked at her friend pensively. "Yeah, I just have to get some papers and take this article to Phil. So... Give me ten minutes"

"Okay, sure" Al said and left Rory to finish up. 

She picked a few papers from her desk and looked at them, taking a deep breath while her eyes scanned the words. She had really been caught by surprise when her editor had come to her desk earlier that day and brought her these papers. She'd gone through a million different emotions, going right from excitement to panic and desperation. After a sigh, Rory put the papers into her bag and then rubbed her face before heading to the direction of her boss's office.

"Hey, Phil" she said after she'd knocked on the door and found his boss speaking on the phone. "I've got the article here"

"Great, just leave it on the desk" he said and nodded at her with smile. 

Rory put the article down on the desk and just as she was about to leave the room, she heard Phil's voice:

"And Rory, I do know that it's short notice, but think about France and let me know"

Rory turned in the doorway and smiled slightly.

"I will"

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It was around midnight when Rory opened the fourth bottle of wine and then sat down on the floor next to Lane and Al. They'd watched a movie and had some pizza earlier, now they were just concentrating on the wine. 

"God, I'm exhausted" Lane said when she leaned against the pillows behind her back. 

"Or just drunk" Al suggested and made Lane grin. 

"You're going to Toronto next week, right?" Rory asked while she poured them all another glass of wine. 

"Yeah, and I'm excited. Though Dave isn't, he's already saying that he doesn't want me to be away for two weeks"

"Ah, the joys of being in love" Al said with a smile. 

"Yeah, exactly" Lane sighed. "Every time I go somewhere he starts complaining. And it's not like he never goes anywhere, he spent three weeks in Florida last summer and I said nothing about it"

"I'd be happy to have someone telling me he doesn't want to be without me for two weeks. I think it's sweet" Al words made Rory smile. "But Rory, I saw you talking with Alex today in the hallway. You sure something's not going on there?"

Alicia's words made Lane turn to Rory with a questioning face, but Rory simply shook her head with a giggle.

"Haven't I told you guys like ten million times that there's absolutely nothing going on between me and Alex?"

"Yeah, he's really not your type" Lane admitted.

"Anyway, I don't wanna talk about Alex or work" Rory said firmly. "Let's talk about something else, please"

"Yeah, I agree" Al said. "Hey, Rory, would be make us some popcorn, please?"

Rory went into the kitchen and heard the two other girls giggling about something. She put the popcorn into the microwave and then looked at the glass of wine in her hand. If she thought about the way she'd felt lately, agitated and anxious, that was nothing compared to the way she felt now. She felt like she was about to blow up, and she didn't know whether it was because she hadn't talked about her nervousness and doubts with anyone or because her doubts had now been confirmed. 

The popcorn was ready and after putting it into a bowl, Rory went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle.

"The wine's just not gonna do it tonight" she said as she returned to the living room and put the bottle of vodka in the middle of the floor. 

"Way to go girl!" Lane giggled and opened the bottle without wasting a minute. "You know this whole girls' night was a great idea"

"I think so, too" Rory yawned making Al nudge him not so gently. 

"Hey, no yawning here! We're gonna stay up at least until three, and that's a rule no one's allowed to brake!

"Al, you see Lane drinking that vodka right there? She's gonna be past out in an hour"

"I am not!" Lane tried to protest, but Al knew that Rory was telling the truth. "It's not fair that no matter how much you two drink, you're never as drunk as I am"

"Don't worry Lane, I've seen Rory just as drunk as I've seen you" Alicia tried to comfort her with a mischievous smile. "You remember that incredible good-looking guy she had that fling with last spring? The one you were drooling all over when you saw him"

"Yeah, I remember" Lane giggled. "And you're right, Rory was so drunk she couldn't even stand on her own two feet"

"Oh, come on!" Rory protested, but didn't manage to suppress the smile on her face. "I wasn't that drunk. But the guy was good-looking"

"No, he was incredible good-looking" Lane stated determinedly. "You know, I had a small crisis with Dave when he saw me pining over that other guy" 

"But he was so worth pining over" Al stated dreamily. "And I bet Rory could tell some delicious details about him…"

"No" Rory's objection was firm. "Those delicious details are only for me…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

He stood on the sidewalk, smoking, even though Mike had told him a million times that he shouldn't smoke in front of the store. There were people coming out with bags filled with books and people going in with still empty hands. Jess put his other hand in the pocket of his jacket to escape the cold while the other held on to the cigarette. 

"Those things are gonna kill you, you know"

Her voice was quiet and soft, but still it rose above all the noise surrounding him. He turned and saw her standing there, with her hands crossed before her chest and her head slightly tilted. She looked at the cigarette and then into his eyes with raised eyebrows.

"So, they keep telling me" he said and after taking one more drag, he threw the cigarette on the street. 

"Maybe you should listen" 

"Maybe"

They looked at each other for a minute and then he took a step toward the store. 

"It's cold, let's get inside"

She followed him into the store and rubbed her hands together to warm them. Jess looked at her and smiled slightly when he said that he'd take his coat to the backroom.

"Look around, I'll come by in a minute to give you a hand"

"Sure" she smiled at him and when he walked toward the backroom he saw Molly's questioning eyes looking at him. 

He shook his head to her and after taking his coat away, he returned to the store which was crowded with customers. Kathy was by the counter, Molly and Mike helping around the store. Jess went to ask Mike if they'd need him later in the afternoon and was pleased to hear that Mike was willing to give him the rest of the day off. 

He looked around and saw Rory on her way up the stairs. After helping downstairs for a while, he followed her and soon found her standing by a box of books that seemed to have been neglected by other customers. He approached her slowly, taking in the sight and then suddenly she looked up at him with a huge grin on her face. 

"This is great!"

"Told you so" he replied with a smirk and went to her. "What have you found?"

"Loads of stuff" she said and giggled. "Emily Dickinson, Umberto Eco, Naomi Klein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sara Teasdale, Ernest Hemingway…" 

"You like Hemingway?" he asked with a grimace, even though he had to admit he was impressed with her varied taste in literature.

"I do. But apparently you don't"

"Nah, not really"  

She looked away from books again and at him. Her eyes seemed to be searching his face for something, looking at him with the sort of intensity that it made him feel slightly uncomfortable. 

"I loved Leonard Cohen, by the way" she said rather shyly.

"You did?" he asked quickly and offered her a smile "I thought you would. Something in particular?"

"Well…" she started a little hesitantly, but then just shrugged. "Many things"

"Huh" he nodded. "Well, when you're ready here come downstairs and I'll show some stuff I think you're gonna like"

"You're sure you have time? I mean, don't you have to… you know, do stuff around here?"

"I've the rest of the day off so I have time for you"

"You have the day off?" she looked at him with wide eyes. "Honestly, you don't have to stay here because of me"

"Who said I was staying here because of you? You have some high opinions of yourself, miss" he looked at her playfully and made her laugh. "Relax, as long as you don't plan on spending an eternity here, I don't mind staying"

"Okay" she smiled at him when he turned away.

"But I think I'll be getting hungry soon, so…" he glanced at her once more and saw her turning away with a grin on her face. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rory dropped the three books from the top of the pile she was holding the minute she got downstairs. Cursing to herself, she wondered how she'd be able to pick them up while still holding on to the ten other books when a girl leaned down in front of her and picked the books up.

"Thanks" Rory breathed gratefully when the girl stood up again.

"No problem, that's what I'm here for" the girl replied with a smile. "So, I guess you could use a box to put these in"

"Yeah, I would. But I'm gonna look around here downstairs first"

"Yeah, sure. I can take these books to the counter and pack them for you"

"Thanks a lot" Rory said and then carried her books to the counter. "There's so much stuff here that I want, it's just… incredible"

"Yeah, we do have some great stuff" the girl nodded as she was packing the box. "You know, I noticed you talking with Jess earlier. You two friends?"

Rory smile a bit, trying to find the appropriate way to describe what they were. Casual acquaintances? People who just kept bumping into each other?

"We've bumped into each other every now and then" she was saved by his harsh voice coming from behind her. 

She turned and saw him standing there, glancing at the girl behind the counter and then looking at her with a smile. 

"Come on, I've got a million things to show you"

"Okay" Rory said and when she turned to the girl again, she reached out her hand.

"I'm Molly" 

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rory" they shook hands and then Rory followed Jess further away to a corner of the store with practically no other customers.

"Sorry about Molly, she can be a bit pushy sometimes"

"I thought she was nice" Rory said

"Yeah, if you consider having someone interfere in you life all the time nice, then…"

His words made Rory laugh, but then she turned her back on him and looked at the shelves. She took a deep breath, unsure of whether she wanted to smell books or him. The thought made her smile and she asked him what he'd wanted to show her. 

"These right here" he said as he knelt down on the floor and pointed at the lowest shelves. 

"Oh my Gosh, the history of American literature, this is a great book…" Rory kneeled next to him grabbed one of the books from the shelf. "Oh, this is… great"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jess put the last book in the box and then knelt down behind the counter. He took the mittens she'd forgotten earlier and placed them on top of the other box. 

"My mittens!" she cried out and looked at him in surprise. "I thought I'd lost them"

"No, they were safe with me" he smirked. 

"Well, I'm glad. Thanks"

He saw her look down at the two boxes on the counter, which were filled with books. He knew that there was no way she would be able to take them home by herself, and it frightened him to realise that he saw an opportunity in that. But an opportunity for what? 

"You're not gonna get home with these" he stated simply and made her look up at him. "I can help you to the subway since I'm walking that way anyway"

"Really?" she asked and lifted her eyebrows. "Damn, I'm in desperate need of some coffee and I didn't even think about the getting home process"

"Look, I'm gonna go and get something to eat… Tom works nearby in a coffeeshop and…"

"Yeah, I know" she said and made Jess look at her questioningly. "I had lunch there with Lane the other day"

"Oh, right. Well, if you grab a cup of coffee there and I eat, then I'll help you get home"

She looked at him with her brow furrowed, as if she was really thinking about his words. Then she grabbed the other box and tried to lift it. She managed to get it off the counter, but in a few seconds she had to put it back.

"You really don't mind?"

"Hey, I've hung around here for two hours because of you" he pointed at her accusingly. "A while more won't kill me"

She laughed and then nodded with an approving smile. 

"I'm gonna go and grab my jacket. Wait a minute"

He left her alone and went to the backroom. He took his jacket from the desk and tried to suppress the smile from his face. Just as he was about to turn and leave the room, he saw Mike and Kathy standing in the doorway with incredibly stupid looking grins on their faces.

"What?" he snapped as he eyed them suspiciously.

"I didn't think you were right, but you were, I admit it now" Mike turned to talk to Kathy who then nodded smugly. 

"Look guys, I'm sort of busy"

"Yeah, you seem to be" Mike said knowingly. "You know, I didn't think this day would come"

"Have you gone mad?" Jess looked at him suspiciously, pulling his jacket on. "I really have to go"

"You don't want to leave the girl waiting, I understand" 

Mike words hit him by surprise and he immediately glanced at Kathy looking irritated to say the least.

"Oh geez!" he said and shook his head in disbelief.

"What?" Kathy replied. "You should see yourself with her, Jess. It's so cute"

Jess looked at them with wide eyes, trying to figure out the exact moment when these two people had gone insane. 

"Whatever" he finally mumbled and made his way out of the room. 

He and Rory walked the block to "Tom's coffeeshop" slowly, since Rory could barely carry the box she was holding. When they were finally sitting in a table and Tom came to them, Rory was looking at her hands.

"I can barely feel them"

"I see you got a little excited at the sale" Tom stated to her when Jess asked for two cups of coffee and two toasts. 

"I guess the lesson to be learned from this is that I shouldn't be so greedy" Rory said with a smile, and made Tom laugh.

"No, the lesson is that this is great way to get a hot guy to come home with you" Tom's words made Jess roll his eyes and Rory blushed while she giggled. "If Jess refuses to help you home with these, I'd be glad to step in" with a wink he left the table and Rory turned to look at Jess who was shaking his head to himself.

"He's a great guy" Rory said to Jess who could do nothing but admit it. "But he probably won't come home with me" she continued and tried to look disappointed about it.

"Probably not, he's already got a girlfriend. You know, the best ones get taken first"

"And by this, you're telling me I'm not one of the best" she lifted her eyebrows and smiled devilishly.   

"Hey, join the club" he simply replied dryly. "But you're in the club of your own free will"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't exactly look like Frankenstein, you're intelligent, educated, a journalist at _the New York Times_"

"So?"

"Any man with half a brain would have you"

"What if I won't have them?"

"Maybe you're asking for two much"

A silence fell between them, she was looking down and he was wondering if he'd crossed some line he wasn't supposed to cross. Just as he was about to try and lighten the situation with some witty comment, she suddenly looked at him and her intense look made him close his mouth. 

"Do you think..." she started with a hesitant voice, which made him stiffen in his chair with no idea of what would follow. "Do you think it's possible for some people to always ask for too much? I mean, so they're never content with what they have?"

"You mean being too ambitious?" 

"Yeah, or just… Always doubting if something else than what they have could be better after all, or wanting things to be perfect and if their not…"

"It depends, I guess. I don't think perfection really exists, but…" he wasn't sure what to say, he didn't have any idea what she was talking about so it was hard to say anything that would matter. "But if someone wonders if something else could be better, isn't that just them changing their mind?"

"It's short-sighed, I think"

"In some things it's not possible to be long-sighted. People change and what they want changes with them"

"But it's not that easy. If… If they've just always wanted something, if they've always had a goal and they've had people to support them and want the same thing for them and then… Then it's right there, it's all within their reach and they forget when they started wanting it and why they started wanting it. And they don't know if they want it anymore"

Her words made their way into his head, little by little. He started to build the picture in his head, understanding dawning and realising what she meant. He saw her looking at him with a searching face and he knew she was hoping for an answer, which would make sense. 

"Maybe they don't want it. Maybe they never did. Maybe it wasn't their dream in the first place, but someone else's dream" as soon as he had said the words he saw that it wasn't the answer she'd been hoping for. "Or maybe they're just afraid. It's natural to get nervous when dreams are coming true"

"Have you ever felt that way?" she asked him and made him smile.

"No, but I guess I've never had big dreams like you"

His words made her look at him silently, her face was completely unreadable and he was becoming increasingly intrigued by what she was talking about. She was just about to open her mouth, when Tom came to them with two cups of coffee and sandwiches.

"Ah, coffee" Rory sighed and brought the cup to her lips. "This is good, really good"

"I'm glad you like it" Tom said with a pleased smile and then left Rory and Jess alone again.

Jess watched her, how she sipped her coffee with her eyes closed. Suddenly she seemed real, she seemed to be a living creature with flaws, insecurities, strange habits and passions. The look in her eyes when she'd talked about… whatever it was that she'd been talking about had made him realise that the flawless and perfect girl he'd imagined her to be didn't even exist. And now he couldn't turn his eyes away from her anymore, because he wanted to know more. He wanted to know her. 

She opened her eyes and put the cup on the table. She took the sandwich from the plate and looked at it like she hadn't seen food for a while. The sight made him want to chuckle and just then she looked at him and smiled.

"But hey, you're not saying that you're just dying to leave our club and become a settled man?"

He welcomed the change of subject to a lighter one and shrugged with a laugh before he took a bite of his sandwich. 

A/N: I do believe that it is a scientifically proven fact that the more reviews a writer gets, the more motivated he/she is to write…:)


	6. Chapter Six

TITLE: Familiar Feeling

AUTHOR: Annabel

PAIRING: R/J 

SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any

DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)

RATING: PG-13 for now.

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews! Honestly, feedback is the best way to motivate me, so… once again, thank you! And any questions in your mind from the last chapter will be answered now. Here's Chapter Six…:)

Familiar Feeling

Chapter Six

A decision had to be made. It was now or never. Well, perhaps the never part wasn't exactly accurate, since she knew that she would probably be offered a chance like this again in the future, if she continued to do well. But nevertheless, she had to make up her mind. 

"I know it's a lot to ask, I wish I could have talked to you about this sooner. But like I told you, the young woman who we initially selected for the program is pregnant and therefore can't be sent off for a year. And even though we don't usually let such new employees as yourself participate, we immediately thought of you when we heard of her cancellation"  

The words that came out of her boss's mouth made their way into her brain slowly and steadily. Her thoughts were racing, and she was trying to keep them together the best way she knew how.  

"I remember how passionate you were in your job interview about your dream to become a foreign correspondent. And you've done well here, you've proved yourself to be independent, hard-working and willing to take up on new challenges"

Her boss was praising her like never before and she was pleased to hear that her performance at the office had been so convincing. She looked down at her hands, telling herself that this was what she had always wanted. She had no reason to say no, this was the ideal program for those who wanted to become foreign correspondents. This was what she had always wanted. And yet, she found herself saying

"Could I have just a few more days to think this through? I realise that this is a wonderful opportunity, but I just…"

"Rory, I know this is a big decision. It can shape the rest of your life. But we need your definite answer the day after tomorrow, so I hope that on Thursday morning you'll come to my office and I can send you to France"

Rory nodded, her heart rate speeding as she stood up. She walked to the door calmly, and heard her head telling her to accept the offer. How would she justify saying no, how would she be able to explain it to herself, or to everyone else around her? She stopped abruptly at the door and she opened her moutht to say yes. But before anything was able to escape her mouth, something made her leave the room and hurry to her desk. 

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He looked ridiculous. He felt ridiculous. And the proud look on Mike's face made him want to squirm away from the guy who was plastering him with the pieces of fabric and run away as fast as he could. He sighed when a needle once again pinched him and the tailor apologized fiercely, glancing at him with nervousness.

"Jess, stay still" Mike's voice commanded as he sat still looking at the fitting.

"It's too hot" Jess snapped back and glowered the guy who was trying to make the suit stay together on this difficult customer. 

"It won't be long now. Just relax"

"Easy for you to say" 

Mike leaned back on the armchair he was sitting on. He sipped coffee and looked disturbingly relaxed, at least to Jess who had probably never felt so uncomfortable in his life. 

"So, is everything going according to plans?" he finally asked Mike, trying to keep his mind off the fact that he would actually have to wear this horrid thing to the wedding.

"Kathy's dress is pretty much finished, we've booked the mansion in New Haven, the caterers are okay, my tux is turning out nicely…"

Jess nodded and took a quick look at his watch, realising that he had stood still for nearly forty minutes. Trying to keep calm, he took a deep breath and thought that the wedding was actually gonna happen in a month. December 1st was to be the big day for Mike, a day of change for all for them.

"We've invited Chris and Tom, but I guess you already know that. They're both bringing dates, but you haven't said anything about it"

"About them bringing dates?" Jess lifted his eyebrow, although he knew what Mike meant.

"About whether you or not you're bringing one"

And here it goes again, Jess thought to himself. When would they just lay off and let him mind his own business? He didn't need someone always breathing down his neck, someone always asking if he'd found the right girl when he wasn't even looking. 

"Maybe the girl from last Sunday?" Mike suggested rather warily, not wanting Jess to explode with anger while having hundreds of needles on him. 

Jess felt like smiling, but he wasn't going to make that error in front of Mike. He'd helped her home after they'd left the coffeeshop on Sunday, put the boxes in the elevator of her apartment building, deciding not to help her upstairs with them and risking an encounter with Rory's roommate. Rory, he was still having some difficulty to realise that her name was Rory. 

"No" he managed to clear his head and return to the conversation with Mike. "Really, I don't even know her"

"So, you just helped her home because…"

"Because she needed help" Jess said as if it had been the most natural thing in the world. 

He couldn't deny the fact that she was attractive. No, she was very attractive. She was strangely child-like and at the same time sensual and so completely unaware of her beauty. Jess felt like chuckling when he realised that he was using words like sensual or child-like. He wondered what Mike would say if he knew he was thinking, but luckily Jess was a master at keeping his feelings and thoughts off his face.

"She was beautiful"

Jess nodded at Mike's words, but didn't look at him. Instead he let his eyes follow the tailor who was circling around him and looking at his sleeves with apprehension. Jess feared that he'd declare he would have to start over, but to his luck, the man stayed quiet and just started to fix the needles on the sleeves. 

"You're not gonna see her again?"

Not after the little stunt I pulled when she wasn't looking, he thought to himself. He wanted to smack himself for acting like brainless idiot. There was no doubt in his mind that she would think he was a jerk, just trying to get into her pants after fooling around with her friend. But hey, he had no idea how it was done, he didn't know how to make someone want to see him again.

"Kathy is worried that if you come alone, you'll manage to cause chaos again" Mike's voice sounded lighter, obviously having noticed Jess's furrowed brow he wanted to ease the situation. 

And he managed to do just that. Jess broke into a smirk when he remembered seeing Kathy for the first time, along with her niece. It had been… God, it had been six years ago. Anyway, Jess and the girl, whose name he couldn't actually even remember, had kept themselves entertained in a way which wasn't completely acceptable to Kathy or Mike. It had been a rough start in the relationship between Kathy and Jess, but they'd managed to overcome it. After all, Jess had been only eighteen then. 

"How's the girl these days?" Jess asked and wanted to cry out of joy when the tailor announced that he was ready and started tearing the clothing away from him. 

"Married with a kid on the way" Mike replied and laughed when he saw Jess wince. "Not really your kind of girl, I guess" 

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"Waiting for a call?" Al asked when she peaked into Rory's room and saw her sitting on the bed with the phone in her hand.

Rory looked up at her and shook her head.

"Nah, trying to make one" she said and then yawned.

"So, you don't mind if I bother you for a minute" 

Welcoming the interruption and the fact that she was able to postpone making the call, Rory put the phone down and looked at Alicia questioningly. 

"There are some rumours going around at work…"

Okay, so this interruption wouldn't let her forget about the subject. And now she would also have to explain why she hadn't told Alicia about getting an offer to spend a year in France.

"They're true" Rory stated quietly, and saw Al nod encouraging her to continue. 

Rory explained the events quickly, how she'd been offered this chance and that she would have to make up her mind by Thursday. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you" she said honestly.

"It's okay, I understand that this was a shock… I just, I mean haven't you always wanted this?"

Touché. 

"You are going, right?"

Rory looked at her, Alicia's excited face made the situation seem more real. But not more desirable. 

"I…" the phone saved her from trying to come up with some unconvincing answer and she looked at Al apologetically when he picked up the phone.

As her mother's cheery voice reached her ears, Rory watched Al leave her room and close the door behind her. So, maybe this was fate. She'd been sitting there on the bed for an hour, trying to decide whether to call her mother, Lane, Dave or… Well, Lorelai had called her so apparently it was time to tell her about this. 

"Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about" she heard herself saying, and the serious tone of her voice made her mother wait patiently for her to continue.

As the silence continued, Rory pictured the possible outcomes of the upcoming conversation in her head. She tried to assure herself that it wouldn't end badly, but that was hardly believable. So, instead of telling her mother the truth, she made sure her voice sounded cheery when she continued speaking.

"About Christmas, I was wondering if Lane and Dave could stay with us"

"Oh" Lorelai's voice was slightly surprised, apparently she'd expected something more serious from the tone of Rory's voice. "Well, of course they can. I'd love it. But what about Mrs. Kim?"

"She's going to visit some relatives in Corea. She tried persuading Lane and Dave to come with her, but Lane managed to come up with a story about having to work during the holidays"

Lorelai chuckled and started planning all the things they would do on Christmas. Rory rubbed her forehead pensively while she listened to her mother and she felt somewhat bad about not being able to tell her the truth.

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He was lying in bed, trying to decide whether to read something or just go to sleep. It was almost midnight on a Wednesday, usually he was at a bar but today he hadn't felt like going anywhere. But he didn't feel like sleeping either, so he sat up and rubbed his face somewhat impatiently. He felt strangely restless, anxious in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. Kathy had been pressing him about the wedding again. She wanted him to come to New Haven next weekend to see the place of the reception and she wanted him to bring a date. And he didn't want anything to do with the wedding, it just made him feel incredibly edgy. 

He snorted when he thought how stupidly he'd behaved when it came to the girl, Rory. He was such an idiot, what had gotten over him? At the time it had seemed like an excellent idea, but right now… 

The ringing phone made him jump and he grabbed it feeling more and more irritated by the second. He mumbled something and waited for a reply. After a silence, which made him want to throw the phone to a wall, he heard a quiet cough, which made him more alert. 

"Jess?" his heart jumped up to his throat at the sound of her voice. "It's Rory"

So, it hadn't been a bad idea after all. Thank God for that.

"Rory" he breathed out and shook his head in disbelief. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just… I'm sorry I called this late, I hope I didn't wake you"

"No, no you didn't" he said quickly and then tried to figure out some appropriate words to say. "Look, I'm sorry about the whole napkin thing. I just… I figured that there was something bothering you and you might want to talk about it so…"

"I'm glad you did it" she replied and he hoped she wasn't able to hear his relieved sigh. "It's not every day a girl finds a phone number written on a napkin and hidden inside a book"

"Cheesy, sorry about that"

"Nah, more cute than cheesy" he heard her giggle and then after a short silence she cleared her throat again. "But I wanted to talk to you… I know it's weird since I don't even know you, but it's just…"

"Easier to talk to someone who doesn't know you"

"Yeah" 

"Look, talking on the phone really isn't my thing. I… You know, if you're not too tired, there's a bar just a block away from your place, do you think we could meet there?"'

"Now?" she asked, but before he had a chance to answer her, she said that she'd be there.

"It'll take me fifteen minutes, see you there" he said and as soon as he dropped the phone on the bed he ran to his jeans and pulled them on. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was sitting in a booth with a coffee mug between her hands when she saw him enter the bar and she waved at him. She watched him when he walked to her, he was so casual in jeans and a black jacket, his hair messy and a slightly wavering look on his face.

"Hey" he said when he sat down across from her and she smiled, feeling his presence so close to her somewhat nerve-wracking.

"Hey"

The waiter came to ask him what he wanted and after asking for a cup of coffee, he turned his gaze back to her. She was still looking at him, feeling slightly unsure of what to do next. 

"You don't think I'm a complete idiot for calling you in the middle of the night?" 

He shook his head and smirked. He asked her if she thought he was a complete idiot for hiding his phone number in between her book. After she'd shaken her head, they both felt slightly more comfortable and the waiter brought Jess his coffee.

"So…" she said.

"So…"

"I've been trying to decide who to talk about this for the past few days, but I just couldn't think of anyone who might understand"

"What is it?" his voice was steady and the look on his face told her that he really did want to know.

"I… I was offered a chance to go to France for a year, it's sort of a training program for foreign correspondents. It's something I've always dreamed about, it's kind of a… once in a life time chance, you know"

She waited for his reaction, and it didn't come. He just sat there, quietly, with an unreadable expression on his face. 

"I have to tell my decision tomorrow, and I don't know what I'm gonna do"

Still, there was no reaction from him. He just sat there, took a gulp of his coffee and waited. She wondered if he thought that she was incredibly selfish, they didn't even know each other and here she was pouring her problems on him. Apparently her hesitance was visible on her face because he leaned forward slightly, his fingers still surrounding his coffee cup.

"So you don't really wanna go"

His words made her inhale deeply, as if she hadn't expected him to understand. 

"I don't remember the day I decided that I want to go to Harvard. I just always did and it was always evident that I would. I don't remember the day I decided that I want to be a foreign correspondent. And now it's coming true and I'm not sure I want it anymore"

"Maybe you're just afraid, this France thing is big"

"It's not just that. I've been… I've had doubts about this right from the start. I mean I like what I do, I'm good at what I do, but I feel like it's… I always thought that I'd have passion for the work I do, but I don't. I'm just restless, and…"

"Is there something else you'd want to do?" he asked her and she noticed the soft tone of his voice before she took a big gulp of coffee.

"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore" she sighed and felt herself becoming more and more anxious. "What am I gonna do tomorrow?"

He was quiet, completely silent for a long time. He seemed to be observing her, trying to read the answer from her face. His eyes seemed to draw holes into her and she looked down, feeling a lump in her throat. Finally, he sighed and asked her why she hadn't been able to talk to her friends about this.

"My mom is my best friend. She had me when she was sixteen, so I guess you could say that we pretty much grew up together. This is our dream, what I've always wanted for me and what she'd always wanted for me. My grandparents put me through college, they've always supported me, wanted me to make something of myself. Lane, Dave and I are at out ideal jobs. We're doing those things we always talked about, we're what we wanted to be"

"I don't know about your family, but from I can tell about Lane and Dave, they're too great people and great friends to you. Wouldn't they understand?"

Would they? Rory was somewhat ashamed to think that they probably wouldn't. And hell, she couldn't understand it herself. But when it came to her mother and her grandparents, Rory knew for sure that they wouldn't understand. Thinking of how Lorelai would feel to be categorized at the same box with her parents made Rory want to laugh, but the stressing situation soon came back to her. If she told them that she had changed her mind, they wouldn't forgive her for pushing away everything they'd wanted her to have.  

"Rory" his hoarse voice startled her and she was a little struck by the way her name sounded when he said it. "I can't tell you what you should say to your boss tomorrow. The only thing I can say is that this is your decision, your life. It's not your mother's or your grandparents', it's just yours. No one else has the right to tell you what you should do with it"

Rory shook her head slightly, thinking that it was easier said than done, but before she managed to say the words, he surprised her with the exact same phrase.

"I've never had a real family. I've made every decision in my life by myself. No one has ever told me what to do, except for Mike who's constantly telling me to get a grip of my life" he smirked slightly and made Rory smile, too. "But even though it's difficult, it's the only way. It's the only way for you to ever be happy with your life. In the end, you're the one who can make you happy, no one else can"

Rory looked at him while he talked, and it took her some effort to actually hear and understand the words which were coming out of his mouth. She found herself more and more captivated by him as he talked, wanting to ask him about what he meant when he said he didn't have a real family or when he talked about Mike. There was something definitely weird about this, considering that she was having the biggest crisis of her life and she seemed more interested in past or in the way his expression changed as he talked to her. And his words were so true, and so incredibly difficult to live by. 

"I guess I didn't really help you make up your mind" he eventually said and she realised he'd made her jump slightly again.   

"Well…" she started while hoping he hadn't been able to read her thoughts from her face. "I was hoping you'd tell me to go or stay. It would be a lot easier if we had other people telling us what to do instead of making the decisions ourselves"

"Yeah, our lives would be a lot easier and unhappier. I've made mistakes, but they're my mistakes and I wouldn't be me if I hadn't done them. And I guess what you're most afraid of is making one. A mistake, I mean"

Rory nodded slightly, realised that she was staring at him, but right now she didn't even care. It was now dawning on her, that this was not good. Actually, this was really, really bad. Not only did she have to make a life-altering decision by tomorrow, but she found her brain solely occupied by a guy who had actually agreed to meet her in the middle of the night without even knowing the reason for the meeting. She found herself fearing or maybe realising that she was falling for a guy who had been with… Ah, she didn't even want to think about right now.

It was 3am when she stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom and tried to remove the grin from her face. Gosh, who would have known it would be this difficult to look serious while having incomprehensible stress hanging over her. She took a deep breath and rubbed her face. There was no reason to grin, or smile or chuckle. But still she felt like doing all those things. He'd made her write her phonenumber on a napkin, he'd promised to call her and ask how it had gone, what she'd decided and what she was going to do. She slapped her hand to her mouth when the grin reappeared. 

A/N: This is completely off the topic, but lately I've become a huge fan of the tv-show Alias. Anyway, I stumbled upon some exquisite fanfiction of the show, mostly involving Sark and Sydney (a great pair, I think). Anyway, the whole point of this rambling is that I am over and over again amazed by the talent some people seem to possess for writing. It's just incomprehensible that there are people with the imagination and ability to write that can make someone else (in this case, me) go through millions of emotions and really feel like she's inside the story, living it all herself. Well, it's just amazing… 


	7. Chapter Seven

TITLE: Familiar Feeling

AUTHOR: Annabel

PAIRING: R/J

SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any

DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)

RATING: PG-13 for now.

A/N: Okay, I'm so SORRY! I've been away for ages and I have no excuse, except my lack of inspiration and my laziness. But, if anyone is still interested in this story, I FINALLY have a new chapter for you guys. Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews and emails I've had with requests of updates. I really couldn't be more sorry guys!

Familiar Feeling

Chapter Seven

Rory lifted her hand slightly, took a deep breath and prepared to knock. Silently she let her knuckles touch the wooden door, but quickly she pulled her hand back before any sound managed to evolve.

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"Next weekend, Jess. Make sure you won't forget it" Mike's voice was stern when he looked at the young man who was standing by the stove.

"Yeah" Jess replied while stirring the tomato sauce that he was heating up.

"I'm counting on you to do this"

"Yeah"

"Jess"

A few seconds later Jess turned and saw Mike's questioning face looking at him. He nodded.

"I'll come to New Haven with you. I promise"

"Good" Mike said with an approving nod. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to the cooking then"

"Okay" Jess said and turned his back on him again.

He heard Mike going to the door and then stopping before he opened it.

"It's Saturday night and you're home. Is everything okay, Jess?"

"Everything's fine, Mike. Go home, Kathy's waiting for you" he said, trying his best to sound patient.

Mike opened the door and Jess heard him let out a surprised gasp. He took a step toward the door, only to see Mike grinning at someone.

"What is it?" Jess asked and when Mike took a step back, Jess almost felt his jaw dropping to the floor.

"A friend of yours, I presume" Mike simply stated and looked at the girl who was still standing I the corridor. "Do come in, please. I was just about to leave"

Jess saw the hesitation in her face and after taking a deep breath, he nodded almost unnoticeably. She took a step forward, smiled at Mike and reached out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Rory"

"I'm Mike, Jess's boss"

"And a pain in the ass" Jess mumbled under his breath, making Mike chuckle.

"Well, I'm gonna head home then. It was nice to meet you Rory"

"You, too"

The door closed after Mike and Jess found himself standing in the middle of his studio, feeling rather uneasy. This was a situation, which was extremely unfamiliar to him. He felt like the underdog, like she had some kind of power over him. And it appeared that she did, after all, the fact tat she had not answered his calls had made him irritated, maybe even angry at her. Luckily he'd only tried calling her cellphone twice, he knew to stop there, otherwise it would have seemed pathetic.

"Hey" she said quietly, and Jess observed that she had some trouble looking straight at him and instead her eyes seemed glued to the floor.

"Hi" he replied, completely unaware of how he should proceed.

He looked at her, how nervous she seemed and how she kept tucking her hair behind her ears.

"What brings you here?" he finally asked, determined not to let her know how badly she had gotten to him.

"I… I wanted to apologize" she said and brought her eyes to his. "You were a tremendous help and I just… sort of… freaked out about everything…"

"It's okay. It was a big thing to decide" he said as if the fact that she hadn't taken his calls had been the most natural thing in the world.

"Yeah. I'm just really bad under pressure. I'm sorry"

He shrugged and saw her relax slightly. She tucked her hair behind her ears again, a gesture that made him want to smile and now her eyes scanned the apartment. He looked at her although her attention seemed to be directed elsewhere, but when she seemed to notice his attentive eyes on her, she blushed and seemed to go back to being embarrassed.

"I hope you don't think that I'm really screwed up"

"Nah, not really. Just a bit" he smirked at her and made her laugh. "Are you hungry? I was just about to eat"

Jess couldn't believe himself. Was he actually asking her to stay for dinner after he'd just spent two days cursing her? Well, apparently he was doing just that.

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt…"

He lifted his eyebrow and after a short silence, she nodded, totally clueless of the fact that he wanted to start beaming.

"Well, if you don't mind"

"I don't" he said and went to the table. "I'll just get you a plate and… You drink beer?"

"Yeah, I do" she replied when she took her coat off.

"It's just spaghetti and tomato sauce, but I hope it's eatable"

"It smells delicious" she said as she came to the table and watched him fill their plates with food.

"I guess wine would have been better with this, but…" he said when they sat down.

Jess hated bright lights and hence the room was only dimly lit. He stuck his fork in the pasta and then glanced up at her, feeling suddenly completely out of his element. He was pretty sure he had never done this before. He had never had any girl sitting on the other side of the table, eating food that he had cooked. But hey, he'd asked her to stay, although he had no idea why. And she'd accepted his offer, which was actually even more confusing.

"Umm, this is good" she mumbled with her mouth full of food and he chuckled.

"I'm glad you like it" Jess replied and within minutes they found themselves occupied in a relaxed conversation about very safe and neutral subjects such as food.

---------------------------------------------

Rory sat on the couch, holding a bottle of beer and occasionally glancing at Jess who was cleaning up after dinner. She felt a million times more relaxed than an hour ago, but still a bit tense. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, she wasn't sure what he thought about her. She had been such an idiot, not answering his calls on Thursday and then not having the guts to call him back. But, like she'd told him, she'd simply freaked. And she'd needed these few days to think things over and sort everything out with herself. And then she'd been too embarrassed to call him.

"So, how did know where I live?" he eventually asked her when he came to sit on the other end of the couch.

"Well" she started a bit hesitantly. "I got Lane to stop by at Tom's and kind of ask him about it"

"Ah" he nodded and she hoped he didn't think she was a complete maniac or a stalker of some sort.

"I know I must have given you a terrible impression of myself. Calling you in the middle of the night, then this whole thing with not answering the phone… I just… I really just…"

"It's fine, don't worry about it" he replied and smiled at her warmly.

"But I do. I'm not usually this unstable, I mean I think you could say I'm one of the most stable people around, at least compared to… well, my mother. I don't do things like these, I really don't" she was slightly out of breath after she finished and she watched him as he nodded at her slowly.

He seemed okay with her, not at all offended like she'd feared he would be. That's why she'd come to his place in the first place. She couldn't bare think that he might think her to be a complete nutcase.

"So… Would it be okay for me to ask what decision you finally came to?"

His question kind of caught her off guard. Naturally, she'd known that the subject of France and her decision would come up once she went to see him, but having spent the whole day worrying about what he must think of her had somehow managed to subside her actual problem to the background. It was weird how the mind worked.

"I… Ummm… I declined the offer" she said with a voice that was barely above a whisper.

He raised his eyebrows slightly, not as though he was surprised, but merely as if he wanted to hear more of the matter.

"I'm still young, there'll be other programs and other chances" Rory started talking, but now she fixed her eyes on the beer bottle. "I just… I need to figure out what I want. I need to take some time to think"

He remained quiet, just looking at her as she spoke. His face wasn't one that was easy to read, so when she looked at him, she couldn't really tell what he was thinking.

"I think it's overrated" he voice seemed low as he started to speak. "Knowing what you want, I mean. There's nothing bad about be kind of adrift. It can be good for you, if you just don't stress about it"

Rory thought he had the deepest voice when he was talking about something… insightful.

"You yourself said that you've always had your life all planned out. Maybe its time for you to just let it go"

"I guess I've just always considered an unplanned life a wasted one" she admitted a bit bashfully. "I know it sounds stupid…"

"It doesn't. It's safe. Of course it is. There aren't many things scarier than not knowing what's gonna happen tomorrow. But there's also nothing more exciting" she noticed a sort of glow in his eyes as he spoke. "Life is always unpredictable, no matter how badly you plan it out or try to control it. You just have to accept that things happen whether or not you want them to happen. Sometimes life just takes you where it wants and not the other way around"

Oh, he was wise.

"Then again, what do I know?" he smirked and winked at her.

A bubbling laugh escaped her mouth and she didn't mind letting her grin stay on her face for a while longer.

---------------------------------------------

A mixture of perfect innocence and soulful wisdom, he thought. Although that sounded just bit too poetic to his ears so he decided he'd just consider her interesting. She listened to him quietly, as if she was desperate to hear and understand every word he said. He was rather sure no on had ever listened to him that attentively. The bridge of her nose wrinkled when she was confused and her eyes sparkles whenever she laughed aloud.

"I still have to find a good time to tell my mother about this. She'd gonna kill me" she sighed heavily.

"Just as long as you don't allow her to make you question your decision. What's done is done and you had good reasons for doing what you did"

"Yeah" she nodded but he thought she didn't sound too sure of the matter.

On this particular moment he was kind of happy of the fact that his mother had never cared about what he did with his life. At least he knew he was living it for himself, and not for anyone else.

"It's your life" he said and touched her chin encouragingly. "You do whatever you want with it"

She smiled, looking a bit more relaxed again and he knew that she was really troubled with the knowledge that she would be letting her family down. He wanted to give her advice, to encourage her to tell her family of the matter as soon as possible, but he didn't really want to meddle. They didn't really know each other after all.

She put her bottle down on the coffee table beside the couch and then turned so that her body was facing him. With a slightly tilted head, she observed him until he started to feel slightly uncomfortable. Only after he fidgeted slightly, she smiled.

"I'm kind of happy that you walked into my kitchen that morning"

Her words surprised him and he didn't quite know what to say. Trying to come up with something, he realised she was leaning towards him and suddenly her arms were wrapped around him and she was squeezing him unexpectedly firmly.

"Thank you" she whispered after he finally managed to hug her back.

Her body felt small against his and he breathed in the scent of her hair. He didn't say anything, just held her until he felt it was time to let go.

"You're welcome" he croaked out in the end and she nodded in acceptance.

They sat in silence for a while more, until she glanced at her watch and announced that it was time for her to go. He followed her to the door and the next thing he knew he was asking her if she'd like to meet up with him next week.

"Maybe for a movie or something? Tom is useless company now that he's with Angie and Chris is working every night so…"

"So, I'm your backup company?" she asked with a raised eyebrow but her voice clearly amused.

"Kind of yeah" he smirked.

"Sure, I'd like that. How about I give you a call and we can come up with something?"

He was grinning inside when he heard the words.

"Sounds good"

"Good"

A few smiles were exchanged and after wishing Rory goodnight, he closed the door after her. He turned toward the couch and looked at her beer bottle sitting alone on the coffee table. She wasn't going to France, she was going to the movies with him.

---------------------------------------------

"Not going?" Al looked at her in surprise. "Really? Not going?"

Rory held onto her coffee mug and nodded once more. This was probably the tenth time this morning that Al was asking the same question. And she had only told her she was going to France a half an hour ago. Oh, what a way to start a Sunday.

"I'm not going, Al. Like I said, the time just didn't feel right"

"Didn't feel right" She repeated her words again. "Oh well…"

"Yeah. Look, this isn't really such a big deal. I mean I just didn't want to go away for a year right now"

Al sat quietly, and still seemed to be in a bit of a shock. They both knew that the program would have been ideal for Rory.

"And" Rory continued somewhat timidly. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone, not even Lane"

"Not even Lane" she raised her eyebrows again.

"I know she'd react exactly the same way as you're doing, and I really don't want to explain this thing to her when I know she won't understand"

Alicia nodded and Rory thanked her with a smile before going to her bedroom to get dressed. She didn't feel like spending the whole day inside the apartment, so she changed into something nice. She wanted to go sit somewhere, have coffee and watch people. And she wanted to think.

She was just about ready to leave her room when Al's head appeared in the doorway and she looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sure your decision was right for you, love" she said and smiled a bit. "Don't mind me and my gawking"

Rory chuckled a bit, and was glad that her friend had taken the supportive approach.

"Thanks, Al"

AN: There it was. I cannot say when exactly I'll have another chapter for you, but I can promise it won't take me another six months. I hope this part was okay although it was rather uneventful, but there's more action coming up soon. Please do review if you actually took the time to read this!


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